Tempo Rubato
by KlonoaDreams
Summary: There's no telling what life will give you—especially if it isn't your first. Rather than worry about the future, Hibiki Miki decides to live life the way she sees it. It just never occurred to her that her existence could amount to anything beyond a second chance at life... SI OC [Cover Art: kurobook]
1. Overture

A/N I have absolutely no excuse for why I'm starting yet another SI OC fic. Nope…although, I AM shifting the blame on **Plouton** and **kurobook** (check out these two hella rad writers and their stories), so you have them to thank for this fic! And I mean that with love…

Oh, and surprise surprise, guess who's finally twenty-one? Me, and this fic is here to commemorate that day because I'm freaking _old_.

 **Disclaimer for the entire story: I don't own** _ **My Hero Academia**_ **or anything related to** _ **My Hero Academia**_ **! I am in no ways Kōhei Horikoshi, nor will I ever be!**

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…

…

There really isn't much to say about Hibiki Miki—not now, at least. After all, she is just a baby, sleeping away the days as they come. She has no particular motivation to stay conscious. And even if she did, she doubts she could even stay awake. It's difficult and it's just so quiet…

There's nothing much of interest to see anyways, save for the mobile that hangs above her crib. She sleeps undisturbed, crying only when she is hungry or in need of a diaper change. It hasn't been that long since she was born—maybe three months at best, if she were to make an estimate. She wouldn't know. Time is a concept that is completely lost to her in her current form.

All she does know is that she is aware, when she probably shouldn't. After all, she is just a baby…but she knows that she once wasn't. This life of hers is anything but her first, because apparently, reincarnation exists.

She can't remember anything regarding the final days of her past life. Her death is a complete mystery to her. She's not even sure if she was still twenty, considering how close it was to her twenty-first birthday. Everything surrounding the events of her death and rebirth is a complete mess…so she doesn't think much about it.

She's alive—that's what matters most to her. She tries not to think too much on the life she has left behind. For the most part, it's an easy task for her to do. With how often she sleeps, it's easy to forget about the things that trouble her. But then there are those days, where she wakes up feeling so distraught. She wants to cry, but at the same time, she doesn't want to cry.

It's a struggle that she can never win against herself. So she cries and she cries. Today is not any different from those days. It's just another day in the life of Hibiki Miki.

…

…

Hibiki Miki was born to Sakine Wakana and Hibiki Hansuke during one particularly chilly autumn evening. She was a product of Wakana's desire to have a child with Hansuke, for reasons that are particularly _complicated_ to explain. That's not to say that Wakana doesn't care for Hansuke.

Wakana likes Hansuke. And Hansuke cares for Wakana in return. Whether romance exists, is a question that everyone asks. It is a question that not even Hansuke and Wakana can answer. One thing is for certain, however. These two are not without any chemistry.

The two have known each other since their high school days, when Wakana approached Hansuke during their first few weeks at Yuuei Academy. Up until that fateful day, the two didn't even know each other existed…well, Wakana might have known about Hansuke for a few days. But all she really knew, at the time, was the meaning behind his surname, which she felt went well alongside her own surname. And for that very reason, she searched out for him and when she found him, she loudly exclaimed, "Team up with me!"

A then fifteen-year-old Hibiki Hansuke had no other way to react, but with a simple, "O-Okay."

It was the start of a long-lasting partnership—one that was (and still _is_ ) beneficial toward their profession in heroics. It was also the start of their extremely perplexing relationship. The only reason the two are even married is because of Hansuke, who otherwise wouldn't know how to react when Wakana came up to him and exclaimed, "Let's make a baby!"

The two did not waste any time getting a copy of their most recent family register and filling out a marriage registration form. Although in their rush to take the documentation to the government office, the two forgot to obtain signatures from two witnesses over the age of twenty. They didn't realize their mistake until minutes after handing in the papers to the official. It was a rather awkward situation, where two adults stared at a middle-aged man for a near four minutes without either of them saying anything.

And as soon as those four minutes were up, Wakana broke the silence by being her usually loud self, exclaiming, "I got this!"

Wakana promptly left the office after that and didn't come back until an hour later, during which Hansuke had an awkward time explaining his situation to the official. Hansuke was on the verge of tears when Wakana returned with their witnesses, whom were two rather muscular men wearing… _oh dear_.

"What?" Hansuke could not believe…what he was seeing.

"Holy shit." And neither could the government official.

 _Somehow_ , Hansuke didn't know how (and even to this day, he still does not know), Wakana managed to drag the two greatest heroes, Endeavor and All Might, into being their witnesses. And from the looks of it, the two were on the job…or had been, considering the two men were suited up for work and had enough free time to actually follow Wakana to the government office.

Speaking of Wakana, she seemed quite proud of herself, gray eyes twinkling with pride as she stood next to the two rather tall men that made her appear shorter than she already was. She pumped her fist into the air and yelled, "LET'S DO THIS!"

By the end of the day, Hansuke and Wakana were married. About a month later, Wakana opted out of work due to undisclosed medical reasons and Hansuke took to working overtime with other Pro Heroes, because _someone_ had to pay that property tax. That was the challenge that came with living in the house Wakana had purchased after years of saving up money.

Eight months later, twenty days into the month of November, out came a baby girl with Wakana's lavender-colored hair and Hansuke's naturally angry eyes. She shared their light olive skin and possessed a rather strong set of vocal chords that she most likely inherited from Wakana. She was loud…but she was also beautiful.

"Let's name her Kotone!" Wakana looked at Hansuke with a smile, ignoring how much the infant's cries were grating on her sensitive ears.

Hansuke, rather tired and ragged from working overtime, looked at his newborn daughter as she cried. He thought about the name for a moment, before firmly saying, "Miki."

"Aww…fine." Wakana pouted rather childishly, her cheeks puffed up for comedic measure. "Say…you think she'll get both of our Quirks?"

A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Hansuke's face. "For our sake, if that happens to be the case, let's hope it develops when she's older."

…

…

It's been nearly four months since that day, and at least a year since Wakana and Hansuke had gotten married. Wakana regrets nothing, despite how early in the morning or late in the night she is woken up by a crying baby. Really, apart from those setbacks, Miki is _nothing_ what Wakana had been expecting when she read all those baby care books and went through a few simulations— _just so she could prepare_.

Hansuke is relieved, because he is so exhausted by the time he returns from work. Sometimes, he doesn't return home for a few days at a time. He usually sleeps through an entire day on such occasions. Today just happens to be one of those days…or it would have, had Miki's cries not woken him up.

Hansuke stares blearily at the ceiling, his head throbbing painfully in reaction to each shrill cry that echoes throughout the house. "Has she gotten louder?"

Hansuke receives no response, for Wakana is out shopping. It's only half past noon, with still much daylight to burn. Sighing, Hansuke tumbles out of the bed with the grace of a newly born fawn. He picks himself up and rubs his back as he makes his way out of the room.

It takes him some time, but he realizes that the cries are getting louder as he nears the nursery—much louder than usual. It's just his luck, he thinks to himself. Really, it's just his luck that Miki's Quirk decided to manifest when she is almost four months old.

"What perfect timing…" Hansuke mutters under his breath.

…

…

…

* * *

A/N So yeah, this is a short chapter, but eh, you gotta start _somewhere_. And seriously, you have **kurobook** and **Plouton** to blame for _why_ this fic exists. I have no self-control, ahahhaa… Honestly, I have other things I should be doing, but naaah, brain says have another SI OC fic.

Well, say hello to Hibiki Miki. She's almost four months old and she's the SI OC of this story. Not much to say about her right now, but the title of the fic itself is self-explanatory (give it some time).

Credit goes to **kurobook** for providing the dialogue that went on in the government office, this fic's summary, because I was at a complete loss for this one, AND MAKING THIS STORY'S FUCKING AWESOME COVER (SEND HER SOME LOVE BECAUSE HOLY SHIT). Also, Hansuke and Wakana, their relationship isn't anything romantic—it's QP. So yeah, don't expect anything romance-related to pop up between the two (not _everything_ has to be about romance, **different types of relationships exist** ). They're both aromantic, meaning neither of them experience romantic attraction. Meanwhile with Miki, who, like the rest of my SI OCs (as well as me), she's asexual, meaning she doesn't experience sexual attraction.

I think that's all I really have for this first chapter. I'll go more into the details the further I progress. For now, this is fine. So until next time, everyone! KD out! XD


	2. Prelude

A/N Uhhh, I CAN EXPLAIN! But before that, hiiiiii guys! This fic ain't dead—it's fucking alive! Also, go easy on me—I've fallen behind ever since chapter 100 of the manga, so I have no idea what happens after that, so try not to spoil anything for me if I get something wrong. I'll give you guys the go-ahead when I catch up (which should hopefully be by the next chapter).

Anyways, read on!

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…

…

When Wakana returns home from her shopping excursion, she is greeted with tired, amaranth eyes. Hansuke has certainly seen better days and Wakana would certainly know. She looks curiously at her partner as he slumps against the living room sofa, cradling Miki in his arms. Miki is asleep…and also out of the nursery.

"Why is she out of the nursery?" Wakana asks, taking a moment to adjust her hold on the numerous shopping bags she has on her. "Wait…why are _you_ awake?"

Hansuke is supposed to be sleeping…

"What do _think_?" Hansuke responds rather curtly. He is glaring at Wakana, his naturally angry eyes emphasizing the potency of his harsh stare…that has no effect on Wakana. After all, she's known him for years—she is quite used to him and his deceptively intimidating appearance.

"What's wrong, Han-tan?" Wakana drops her shopping bags without even a second thought (it's not as if she's carrying anything fragile). "You're never like this without a reason."

"And I'm not without reason." Hansuke just wanted to sleep…but he's awake and very, very hesitant to go back to sleep. "Guess who's Quirk managed to manifest?"

"Hmm?" Wakana blinks twice before a wide grin crosses her face. "Oohh! Did she get it—both of ours, I mean?!"

Hansuke is not at all surprised with Wakana's reaction. He doesn't even blink when she dashes towards him without warning. He arches his brow when he sees her messing with Miki's tiny hands as if they were paws belonging to a puppy. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for finger pads, what do you think?" Wakana pouts childishly when she finds none. Instead, all she finds are tiny hands with tiny fingers…that she continues to mess with because they intrigue her. "I was hoping she'd get your finger pads…they're just so _soft_!"

"So I've been told…" And Hansuke has…many times, by Wakana, who absolutely _adores_ how soft the pads on his fingertips are.

"You wanna borrow my headset?" Wakana gently prods Hansuke's cheek. "I can figure out what else she might have gotten, if she didn't get your finger pads."

Hansuke looks darkly at Wakana. "Keep it—you're gonna need it more than me."

"Hmm?" Wakana tilts her head to the side, her gray eyes looking down at Miki. "That bad?"

"She didn't just get your Quirk, you know…" Hansuke almost wishes Miki had, because Wakana's Quirk is quite harmless on its own (if still rather bothersome).

"But she doesn't have your finger pads—oh… _oh_ …" It takes her a moment, but Wakana understands.

"You got what you asked for…" Hansuke just wishes Miki were a little older. "Happy?"

"Hmm…" Wakana pauses for a moment to think. She then decides to plop down on the sofa, right next to Hansuke. She takes a moment to wrap her arm around Hansuke's shoulder and afterwards, says, "Honestly, I'd still be happy no matter what—so long as it's you. I mean, we make a great team and don't you think it's cool that we made this?"

As comedic as it is to see Wakana casually gesturing at the sleeping infant that they had "made" (as she puts it), Hansuke can't help but turn into a flustering mess as his face heats up with a noticeable blush. He tries not to lose his cool (even though he already has), but Wakana sees right through it and worsens his condition by lightly poking him in the cheek.

"This is why I like you, ya know!" Wakana grins. "Apart from the fact that we're friends, of course—or maybe we're beyond that?"

"You're so _embarrassing_!" Hansuke wishes his hands were free, so as to bury his face in them, but alas, he is cradling an infant…who is still asleep. Goddamn, she sleeps rather heavily, for someone he presumes inherited her mother's enhanced hearing (that he hopes his genes didn't enhance even more, as it usually did with Wakana's Quirk). He appreciates it…

…

…

The next time Miki wakes, about an hour has passed and her stomach has started to growl from hunger. It does not feel pleasant and her immediate reaction is to cry, as she usually does. Although, all it takes is a few wails for her to notice that something is extremely off. She's noticed it before, but this time…it's _really_ off. As in…she's actually taking a moment to _think_ about it.

 _Am I always_ _ **this**_ _loud?_

It would be easy for Miki to say yes, except she can't. Not only because she has yet to master the art of talking, but also because she has done a lot of crying these past few months to know how loud she can truly be. And she's never been _this_ loud.

Her ears are actually ringing when she stops wailing—which isn't a good sign. It is _never_ a good sign. The headache she feels, however… _that's_ normal. Her head always hurts whenever she cries like the baby she is. The pain, on the other hand— _that_ isn't normal.

 _Ow, what the fuck?!_

"Buuuhh…" She really wants to cry again, but at the same time, she doesn't. Not with how loud she can be. It'll just worsen her headache and make her ears ring again.

 _BAM!_

Miki flinches when her parents barge through the door. They are never like this whenever she cries, but today isn't like any other day. She's louder than usual and just as soon as she had started crying, she stopped. It's only natural that her parents would worry about her.

"Miki!" she hears them call out in unison.

Miki blinks when she soon sees her parents' faces, looking at her as she lies in her crib. They appear rather distraught until they notice that she's still there. She can hear the sighs of relief escaping their mouths.

 _I'm not going anywhere…_

Even if Miki wanted to, she isn't physically capable of getting anywhere—not yet, at least. Give her a few more months, and _maybe_ she can fix that. It depends on how fast she's capable of learning how to crawl. The most she has been able to do is roll over, which she feels is good enough progress.

She hears her parents beginning to talk again to each other. She has no idea what they are saying, which is nothing out of the usual, considering the current language barrier that exists for her. She can at least hear her name mentioned a few times (it's not that difficult when every little noise sounds so fucking _loud_ ).

 _What are they talking about?_

 _Growl._

"Buh…" Hunger still does not feel good, so Miki starts trying her best to catch her parents' attention. It doesn't take her that long, because Hansuke reacts quickly to his daughter's needs and lifts her up into his arms.

It doesn't really occur to Hansuke that it might've not been such a good idea to go about touching anyone without his gloves on. In hindsight, it was just a simple mistake he made when he dropped everything he was doing to get to Miki when he heard her cry so loudly and then stop immediately right after. Years of training and experience as a hero can do that to a person and Hansuke is certainly no exception.

Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared him for the obnoxiously **loud** squeal that escaped from Miki's mouth. It was such a happy squeal, too—one that's accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.

…

…

About an hour later, Miki finds herself stuck in a hospital waiting room with Wakana, Hansuke, and some other family of three that had the same unfortunate luck as they did. Their bleeding ears say all, as does their heavy reliance on their cellphones to communicate with each other. Apart from the rough start, Wakana and Hansuke hit it off quite well with their new acquaintances, Jirou Mika and Kyoutoku.

Meanwhile with Miki, she ends up just staring at their son, Kyouya, who seems _oddly_ familiar in ways that she cannot understand. It hurts too much to think, so she closes her eyes and sleeps. The last thing she honestly needs is any more pain after what had happened earlier—speaking of which, just what the fuck was _that_ about?!

" _What kind of hell was I born into?!"_ Apparently, one where superpowers existed, in ways that suggested that it was absolutely normal. It certainly says a lot about the way that her parents remain so calm, despite the fact that she not only ruptured their ear drums, but she also managed to break _every_ window in their house. _"God damn."_

…

…

It takes more than a month for the damage to heal and for Miki's hearing to return—which is about three weeks longer than what it takes for Wakana and Hansuke. Miki spends most of it sleeping, which is a side effect of the healing that's taking place on someone as young as her. By the time she's about six months old, she's gone back to her usual routine of crying when she's hungry or in need of a diaper change.

She's babbling a lot more often, as means of testing her new powers. Her volume fluctuates from highs to lows. She's not yet capable of controlling it, though that could certainly change in the future. In the meantime, she focuses on getting used to the headset that's covering her ears. It looks identical to the headset that her mother wears, though it's a lot smaller and definitely not as fashionable. Otherwise, it does a decent job at blocking out any loud sounds that would otherwise hurt her ears…until that sound goes beyond its set threshold.

In the past month, Miki has gone through fifteen different headsets. It always happens when she least expects it. Just when she thinks that she can't get any louder— _bam_! There goes another headset, rendered completely useless by its now obsolete threshold. It's somewhat annoying, because each time it happens, Miki has to head to the hospital. It's never anything too serious, but her parents can never be too sure.

…

Miki is about nine months old when she says her first word. It's not anything that Wakana expects, when she directs Miki's attention to Hansuke as he appears on television. She's far too giddy to notice anything off about the way Miki stares at the screen. Wakana is just so happy to see Hansuke standing in the spotlight for once—even if most of the attention is focused on the man standing next to him.

Then, without any warning, Miki points a chubby finger at the screen and says, "Ahh mai!"

Wakana stares at Miki, gray eyes wide with shock. "Ahh…"

"Ahh mai!" Miki repeats herself, her gaze focused on the blond-haired man standing next to her father. He stands at a height far taller than Hansuke, with an overly-muscular build that's only accentuated by the skintight bodysuit he wears. Light practically radiates off the dazzling smile he gives to the people around him. "Ahh mai!"

There's no mistaking the Symbol of Peace that is All Might—not in this life or any. Miki knows him all too well from the content she consumed in her past life. It's taken her nine months, but she finally knows about the world she was born into. It disturbs her with how easily she takes the news, sounding far more enthusiastic instead of concerned about living in a world that was once fictional to her. She supposes that it could be worse—it could be far, far worse than being born into the world of _Boku no Hero Academia_.

" _It could be_ Naruto _or_ One Piece _…"_ It could even be _Berserk_ —but it's not. It's a world where she has an actual chance to live a semi-normal life. Sure, Quirks are a thing, but she can live with that! She can certainly live with that… "Ahahaha!"

She laughs as much as she can, blissfully oblivious to the look of anger her mother directs at All Might's image on the television screen.

"That son of a bitch…" she mutters under her breath. How _dare_ he deprive her of her baby's first word!

Had Hansuke been at her side, he would've successfully managed to curb some of her annoyance. Unfortunately, he is not at home, so Wakana pulls out her cellphone and makes a call to her hero agency.

"Hello, it's me—I've decided to make an early return." About five months earlier than expected…

…

…

About a week later, a costume-clad Wakana walks up to an unsuspecting All Might and shoves Miki into his arms without any warning. She throws a duffel bag at his feet after resisting the urge she had to throw it at his stomach. All Might has no chance whatsoever to even say anything before Wakana grabs him by the front of his costume and pulls him down to her level. She feels oddly smug that she managed to catch All Might off-guard, not knowing that he actually just leaned into her pull to avoid hurting her in any way.

"You took her first word from me." There's something so ominous about the way Wakana forces herself to smile as she looks All Might in the eye. "For that, you must pay. I expect her to be completely unharmed by the time I come back for her—understand?"

It takes All Might a few seconds to find his voice. "Y-Yes!" he says, his smile never once wavering.

A genuine smile replaces the fake one that Wakana has on her face. She releases All Might from her grip and happily clasps her hands together. "Lovely! Thank you so much, All Might! You're a real life-saver! I'll see you later! Bye-bye, Miki!"

As soon as Wakana is out of sight, All Might turns his attention to the baby in his arms. She stares back at him with two differently colored eyes.

"Ahh mai!" she suddenly says, in a voice that's uncomfortably loud. It doesn't take All Might long to put two and two together about her Quirk. It's sound-related, that's for sure, which would explain the headset she's wearing. "All!"

"That's me!" All Might says, his iconic smile never once leaving his face. "It's nice to meet you!"

It takes the press less than an hour to start spreading rumors about him, during which Hansuke nearly spits out his water when he finds a picture of his daughter on the front page of some random tabloid that his coworker shows him. When Wakana told him that she had found a babysitter for Miki, he didn't think that _this_ is what she meant!

"What the hell, Wakana?!" he yells at her over the phone, not caring about anyone who might hear them.

" _ **Her first word was All Might…"**_ is all that he gets as an answer before she hangs up.

He stares at his phone for over a minute before hanging up. Afterwards, he buries his face into his hands and lets out an exasperated sigh. _"This is my life…"_

This is what he signed up for when he agreed to have a baby with Wakana. He regrets nothing, except for not being able to stop Wakana from being so damn impulsive when she's in an absolutely petty mood. Otherwise, he's doing absolutely fine.

" _I'm greeeaaaat…"_ He actually wants to cry, because he had been hoping for Miki's first word to be, "Papa."

There goes one part of Miki's life that he'll never be a part of…

…

When Wakana walks up to Hansuke after a brief evaluation with her agency's boss, she isn't at all surprised to have him crying on her shoulder.

"There, there—it's all right!" she tells him as she rubs soothing circles on his back. "I'm here!"

As always, Hansuke never fails to prove that he is the emotional one out of the two of them. Not that Wakana minds—she never minds. It's why she likes him.

And after an absence lasting nearly two years, The Gentleman and Melodiva make their first appearance as a team again. Their diehard fans welcome them back with excessive cheering. Meanwhile, All Might finds himself stuck with the nickname of the Strongest Babysitter by the end of the week. The nickname sticks to him like how Miki sticks to her baby carrier—which he has strapped to his leg, due to his torso being too big for it.

Honestly, it could be worse. Apart from some mishaps involving her Quirk, All Might has little to no actual issues watching over Miki. It's really only until he has a chance encounter with Endeavor that it becomes an actual issue. Miki only meant to annoy Endeavor with an obnoxiously loud sound (because the fucker deserves it for being a shitty person). Instead, she accidentally crosses a volume threshold that causes all three of them to pay the hospital a visit for ruptured eardrums.

It is there, that Miki finds herself face-to-face with Jirou Kyouya a second time. This time, only his father is there with him and he wastes no time taking out his cellphone to talk with Endeavor and All Might. As that went on, Miki plays on the foam-covered floor with Kyouya.

It takes less than a month for the damage to heal, during which Miki spends most of her days sleeping through just about everything—even All Might's heroics. Social media has an absolute field day over this, making various jokes over the pictures that were uploaded to the internet.

Miki is nearly a year old when Wakana finally pulls a stop to All Might's babysitting duties. She does it out of necessity, to avoid inconveniencing All Might now that he's the city's most trusted hero. She also does it due to accusations of child endangerment aimed at both her and All Might, which their lawyers quickly stamped out.

"It's been great while it lasted!" Wakana is sure going to miss seeing pictures of All Might with a baby strapped to his leg. "I'm still mad at you for being Miki's first word—but you are forgiven!"

She's had her fun, so it's time that she moves on. All Might understands and sees the mother-daughter duo off before going on his way. Then, when he least expects it, he hears Miki saying, "Bye-bye All Might!"

All Might isn't sure how far Miki is from him or how loud she actually is. All he knows is that he feels content with himself for a job well done.

…

…

The next day, Miki finds herself getting shoved into the arms of her cousin, Yamada Hizashi, at five in the freaking morning. She is not in the best of moods and Hizashi is too disoriented to even make sense of Wakana's sudden visit. As soon as Wakana leaves, he shuts the door and heads to bed. Around four hours later, Hizashi wakes up to the sight of his cousin's resting bitch face. That's when it really hits him.

"She had a kid?!" His loud volume earns him three loud knocks from the other side of the wall behind his bed. "Sorry, Shouta—didn't mean to wake you!"

He hears only an annoyed groan from beyond the wall and then silence. He sighs afterwards, focusing his attention on his baby cousin—that he actually has. That's a thing…

"I need to call Kaa-san." His mother is going to _freak_.

…

Less than fifteen minutes later, Hizashi finds himself staring at his cousin as he eats breakfast—which consists of a bowl of cereal. Miki is working her way through a jar of baby food that she'd rather not eat at all due to its horrid taste. The texture is absolutely horrific, too, but she eats it anyways, because Hizashi went through the effort of opening a jar for her.

 _Growl._

And also because she's hungry—she's _really_ hungry. But this food is so _nasty_! "Bleh!"

"If you want, I can open up another jar for you." The last thing Hizashi wants is for his cousin to make a mess on his table—he just cleaned that yesterday. "Your mom ain't here, so you can just kick back."

He doesn't actually expect Miki to understand him, so when she hands him a different jar of baby food, it catches him by surprise. It doesn't last long, though, as he reaches out to ruffle her hair as best as he can, with her headset in the way, and then opens the jar of baby food for her. She has an easier time stomaching the flavor of food from this jar and as a favor to Hizashi, she avoids making a mess on his table.

After breakfast, Hizashi has an interesting time saying words for his cousin to repeat while playing his video games. It really doesn't take him long to figure out Miki's Quirk—which has little to no effect on his ears. It's just as he's wondering if this is why Wakana went to him when he receives a call from her.

" _ **WHY DID YOU TELL YOUR SISTER ABOUT MIKI?!"**_ Ohh, Shouta is going to _hate_ him for this! _**"NOW SHE WON'T STOP ASKING ABOUT THE WEDDING AND—"**_

Without any warning whatsoever, Wakana stops talking midsentence. Hizashi hears absolutely nothing coming from the receiver—not even a dial tone. He checks his phone to see if Wakana had hung up, only to find out that the call is still going. After a few seconds, Wakana hangs up and then sends him a message. Hizashi hears absolutely nothing from his phone, which is strange, because his phone's volume is on the highest setting. It's really only when he opens Wakana's message that he finds out what had happened.

 _Did Miki mute us?_

 _-Wakana_

That's when Hizashi notices how _quiet_ his room had gotten. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Wanting to double-check, he holds up his hand and snaps his fingers a few times.

 _Silence._

" _Well, shit."_ Miki actually _muted_ them.

 _Yeah, she did. Uhhh, how long is this gonna last?_

 _-Hizashi_

He waits a few seconds after pressing send and receives a response almost immediately from Wakana.

 _¯\\_(_ _ツ_ _)_/¯_

 _-Wakana_

Hizashi stares at his phone for a few seconds. Realizing that his aunt is of no help, he throws his phone across the room and watches it crash into his clothes hamper. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. This is going to be a _long_ day…

…

About an hour later, Hizashi finds himself receiving a surprise visit from his neighbor, Aizawa Shouta—who does _not_ have the key to his apartment, so how in the heck did he get in?!

"How the fuck?!" Hizashi tries to say, but no sound comes out of his mouth.

Shouta stares at him with tired eyes as he holds up an open notebook with writing on it that reads, "I picked your door's lock. Why the hell is everything muted?"

Hizashi doesn't even hesitate to sell out his baby cousin to Shouta. It takes Shouta less than a few seconds to activate his Quirk, his eyes glowing red and his black, messy hair standing upwards. And just like that, all sound returns to the area and the first thing that Hizashi says is, "Lockpicking isn't something a hero should know."

"Shut it." Shouta does not seem to be in any mood for Hizashi's jokes. "What's with the baby?"

"Cousin—it's Wakana's." Hizashi pats Miki's head a few times. "Somehow, she got married and had a kid without any of us knowing about it. Say hello, Miki."

"Hi, Miki!" Miki waves her hand.

Shouta stares at her for a moment…and then says, "Yeah, that's _definitely_ her kid."

"Anyways, I'm babysitting her for time being—you up for a round?" Hizashi holds out a second controller to Shouta. "You might as well, since you're here!"

"Give me that." Shouta snatches the second controller out of Hizashi's hands and just lets himself fall onto the bed. "Oh, and I'm Aizawa Shouta. Call me whatever you like."

"Shou!" Miki squeals out before clapping her hands a few times.

"Except for _that_." Shouta scowls at Miki, already starting to regret ever giving her his name.

"Shou-tan!" And _definitely_ not that!

"Aww, I think she likes you!" Hizashi isn't at all surprised when Shouta suddenly shoves a pillow into his face. Instead, it just makes him laugh. And soon, Miki starts laughing as well. The two are obnoxiously loud, which prompts Shouta to wrap himself in Hizashi's blankets. It doesn't have the same effect as his sleeping bag, but it does a decent job nonetheless. If he has to put up with Hizashi and his equally loud cousin, then he might as well make himself comfortable…

…

…

It's a quarter past three in the afternoon when Shouta finally asks Hizashi, "What time is Wakana picking up your cousin?"

Hizashi is in the middle of eating a cup of instant noodles when he's asked that. He slurps up the rest of his noodles and then swallows before setting down the empty cup on the table and then rushing over to his room. He's only gone for a few minutes, but during that time, Shouta finds himself locked in a staring contest with Miki, whose resting bitch face proves to be a formidable opponent.

When Hizashi returns, he's looking at the message Wakana had sent his phone about an hour ago. It takes him a minute to fully process the message before he looks up and says, "Uhh, Shouta?"

"What?" Shouta looks away from Miki, deciding to put an end to their staring contest—which he won, because Miki blinked.

"Unless I'm reading this wrong, then I don't think she's coming at all." Hizashi holds out his cellphone for Shouta to see the message.

 _See you in five weeks!_

 _-Wakana_

"Unbelievable." Shouta turns his attention back to Miki, who is shoves a handful of instant noodles into her mouth. "That's not yours."

Miki stares at him for a moment before grabbing the cup of noodles and holding it closer to herself. She's not giving them back…

"I'll make you another, Shouta—just let her have it." Hizashi runs his hands through his hair. "Are…Are babies even allowed at Yuuei?"

Because Hizashi does not know anyone else who can watch over Miki while he's at school. He's living on his own, in an apartment that his parents are paying for him while he's attending Yuuei Academy. That about describes everyone else living in this particular apartment complex, so there goes any chance he has at asking one of his neighbors for help.

"I don't know." What Shouta _does_ know is that whatever ends up happening, he'll get involved no matter what—whether he wants to or not. Because that's just his luck when it comes to having Yamada Hizashi as his classmate. It's been that way since the day he discovered that Hizashi was his next-door neighbor.

Hizashi plops down in a chair, feeling far more exhausted than he usually is. He looks at his phone again and sighs. "Well…I guess Miki's coming with us tomorrow."

"Wonderful," Shouta dryly says as he continues watching Miki eat the cup of noodles that she _stole_ from him. He doesn't even like that crap, but Hizashi made that for _him_. "That still isn't yours."

Without any warning, Miki shoves a handful of noodles into Shouta's mouth. "Sharing!"

Shouta stares wide-eyed at Miki, not knowing what to make of his current situation. His eyes dart to the side when he hears the sound of a camera going off. _"Oh hell no…"_

"I'm sending this to Wakana!" Hizashi grins widely as he does just that. "I'll tell you what she thinks."

" _You're on your own the next time you find a roach in your room…"_ Shouta pulls Miki's hand out of his mouth and then lightly flicks her on the nose. He expects her to overreact in some way. Instead, she just laughs and claps her hands.

"Shouta!" she says, finally saying his name correctly.

Shouta blinks a few times and then smirks. "Brat."

…

…

Yuuei Academy takes surprisingly well to Miki's presence come the next day. Apart from having to deal with his classmates staring and asking questions about her, Hizashi has no actual issues that would otherwise affect his school life. And then halfway through homeroom, Miki accidently mutes the entire classroom. It catches his classmates by surprise, as the last thing they had ever expected from Miki, as someone who is related to him, is silence of any sort.

Thankfully, Shouta is there to nullify Miki's Quirk, so class goes on as usual. It takes a couple of days for Yuuei Academy to adjust to Miki's presence. Shouta's Quirk proves a lot more useful in preventing any more disruptions…at least until Miki accidentally crosses yet another volume threshold without any warning. Which actually happens by the end of the week, and so classes were cut short, due to half of the student body being afflicted with ruptured eardrums.

Only Hizashi is immune to this, coming out completely unscathed while everyone else is rushed to the infirmary. Being as young as she is, Recovery Girl doesn't even attempt to use her Quirk on Miki and instead, gives Hizashi directions to a nearby hospital. It is there, that Miki meets Kyouya for a third time and that Hizashi becomes acquaintances with Mika and Kyoutoku.

…

It's late in the evening when Hizashi returns to his apartment with Miki. He wants nothing more to sleep, like his cousin has been doing since they've left the hospital. When Hizashi enters his room, he isn't at all surprised to find Shouta sleeping in his bed. This is his way of getting back at him. Even though it wasn't exactly his fault for rupturing his eardrums, Shouta needed a scapegoat and Hizashi was just that. Which is why he's hogging all of the blankets and most of the pillows.

" _You could've at least brought your sleeping bag…"_ Hizashi sighs and grabs a pillow off the bed. He throws it onto the carpet-covered floor, walking past it in order to put Miki down for the night in her travel bed. She has long since fallen asleep after having her ears healed, which makes everything easier for Hizashi as he plops down onto the floor and lets his head rest on the pillow.

He falls asleep within a few minutes.

…

…

…

* * *

A/N Anyways, YEAH, Miki is actually related to Yamada Hizashi, AKA, Present Mic. It made the most amount of sense at the time to me, considering Miki's Quirk, which is actually a stronger form of what her mother, Wakana, has. It got enhanced because of Hansuke's Quirk, which is otherwise useless on its own. His Quirk functions as a power booster. He's good for support and is likely to get used by others, which he does allow, but he sticks mainly with Wakana as his partner due to the way she picked him out of the bunch without even knowing what his Quirk was. You could say he's just a sidekick, but Wakana doesn't see him as once and _will_ fight you on that if you just dismiss him as such.

Also All Might popped up again and this is pretty much before his big debut in that one video that was posted online, so he's not as famous as he _will_ be. That said, he's still a pretty popular hero…but that won't stop Wakana from taking some petty form of revenge.

Don't take the whole babysitting Miki too seriously (both in All Might's case and in Hizashi's), I mostly did it as a joke. Like the eardrum rupturing that happened in this chapter—I also know that in most cases, that shit would result in permanent hearing loss, but like I'm of the belief that most healing facilities are employed with at least a few people with healing Quirks that could otherwise treat immediate damage. Key word: immediate damage, meaning it has to be a _sustained injury_.

(By the by, if you're wondering about the whole "Kyouya" situation…just wait for it—I'll get into it later. It's there for a reason.)

I'm also of the belief that Hizashi is immune to the damage his voice, which in turn also extends to sounds that Miki herself can make. After all, when Hizashi was born, his cries caused his parents' ears to _bleed_. But what about Hizashi? He comes out alright, so it must be that his body is immune to soundwaves or some shit. Don't think too much about it—I'll probably explain it later in-story, because I have thought about this shit a LOT.

Anyways, out of all my SI OCs, Miki has like the biggest chance at a semi-normal life and she knows it. She also like…has the least amount of information on BNHA/MHA, because there were only 88 chapters at the time I published this fic, meaning _that's all she has so far for information_. So don't go expecting Miki to try and change future events, because she knows jackshit. That doesn't mean she isn't capable of changing the future, but it's just something she can't exactly plan in detail. With that out of the way, please don't expect too much from Miki. She's barely a year old…

Anyways, for anyone who wants to know what happened, so much shit happened in the last half of 2016. I lost a friend to suicide in October, failed a class, had an otherwise stressful year because my sister was living with us at the time and her toxic behavior pretty much weighed down on me a lot. I lost another friend like less than six months later in a car accident, lost one of my cats in July and in that same month, my old laptop crapped out on me so I had to wait until September to get my new one and then I had a fight with my sister after I called her out on her toxic bullshit, which led to me going without internet for a few weeks until my second oldest brother helped me out my getting me even BETTER internet. More shit happened in school (failed another class), and just…ugh.

Good news is that I started doing a lot better come November, when I like started streaming _Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony_ and made a bunch of friends who I talk to on discord in a group that USED to be called Clair de Lune (which is the name of the DRV3 fic I wrote with an SI!Kaede), but is now Gacha Meme Hell. A lot of us are writers there and it honestly had a positive effect on me by making me a lot more productive, so here I am in 2018, doing a lot more than writing than I have ever done, even if my updates are sporadic.

I was working on chapter seven of my Persona 5 fanfic, _Jamais Vu_ , when I suddenly got the urge to work on this fic again and BEHOLD, the result. You guys got a bit of a long chapter that would've been longer, but I decided to split it up. Yeah. Make what you will of that!

I'm also doing a whole lot better in terms of mental health (my sister is FINALLY out of my house).

That's about it for now. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless! Until next time, everyone! KD out! XD


	3. Triplet

The next day, Hizashi receives a sudden influx of money from his aunt, as an apology for the mess Miki had created for him. The first thing he does is take Shouta out to dinner at that expensive buffet he's been wanting to visit for ages. It's like killing two birds with one stone!

Miki is brought along for the ride and has the time of her life trying out the various foods that catch her attention. She's a lot quieter now, while her ears are still healing, though every once in a while, sounds around her will fluctuate between loud and quiet. It's a minor setback, but it's nothing that Shouta and Hizashi can't handle.

Life goes on as usual, though Shouta and Hizashi's classmates are extremely wary about Miki and her potentially devastating Quirk. Thankfully, Yuuei Academy's Department of Support manages to make a breakthrough in creating an even _better_ headset for Miki. It goes beyond her usual headset's capabilities, even going so far as balancing out her sounds that would otherwise surpass her previous threshold. The downside is that it's limited by its short longevity, which is estimated to be a couple of months at best. At worst, it shouldn't last longer than a few weeks…

"This is the best I can do on such a short notice." Hizashi isn't at all surprised to find that it's Class 1-H's class representative, Izumi Mao, who had created the product. It makes the most amount of sense, considering that Mao _also_ has sensitive ears as a result of their Echolocation Quirk. "It's a short-term solution, but it should do in the meantime until I can make an even better product."

Izumi Mao is not much older than Hizashi and is only shorter than he is by at least a centimeter, with tan skin that's a few shades darker than his is. Their hair is mostly black in coloration, with splashes of teal here and there that are completely natural. Like Hizashi, they also wear a pair of tinted sunglasses, though Mao wears theirs for reasons that go beyond aesthetic.

"So what's the catch?" Hizashi knows that Mao doesn't do anything without expecting something in return.

"I just want you to drop by every few days or so with your cousin." Mao adjusts their tinted sunglasses, their lenses gleaming eerily in the light. "You know—for data collection. How else am I going to make improvements?"

"Just don't take too long—Miki gets bored easily." Hizashi isn't sure if it's too early to tell, though he does suspect that Miki could have ADHD. After all, Wakana has it and so does he—at this point, Hizashi's pretty sure it just runs in the family.

"I'll get you something to keep you busy." Mao smiles at that moment, exposing their bat-like fangs. "You like games, yes?"

"Uh…I guess." Hizashi isn't sure what Mao means by that, but it shouldn't be that bad.

…

It's bad.

It's really, _really_ bad.

Because Mao manages to push him into a game of Monopoly with the rest of their classmates from 1-H. It goes exactly as one would expect, in ways that friendships were ruined before they even began. By the end of the day, Hizashi had made an enemy out of those whose suffering he prolonged during that game of Monopoly…

"What did you do?" Shouta asks him on the way back to their apartment.

"I bought all the railroads and it all just went downhill from there…" Hizashi's eyes dart to the side when he feels Miki's hand patting him on the cheek. "You're to blame for this."

"You know she can't hear you." Miki still has another two weeks before her hearing returns.

"Yeah, but I also know that I'm not wrong!" Because had it not been for Miki's Quirk, Hizashi wouldn't have gotten into that mess in the first place. Not that he actually blames her, he's just venting at the moment.

…

…

Miki starts walking a few days after her first birthday. Hizashi is only so fortunate to have caught it all on camera, because Wakana had asked him to give him an update on Miki. When he sends Wakana the video, he gets an immediate response and for the next hour or so, Hizashi is unable to access his phone because Wakana won't _stop_ messaging him!

Hizashi goes about killing time by playing his video games. Every so often, he reaches out and grabs Miki by the back of her shirt to keep her from falling flat on her face. He doesn't even question her determination to keep walking, despite being unable to maintain her balance for long. If she wants to try, then who is he to stop her?

As the days go by, Hizashi finds himself taking pictures of the staring contests that Shouta has with Miki. Shouta doesn't even try to deny it when Hizashi asks, though he does attempt to excuse it by saying it's good practice for his Quirk.

"I know what you're doing." Hizashi grins widely. "You're bonding!"

 _Click!_

Shouta remains silent, deciding that it really isn't worth his time and energy to give Hizashi a proper response. Instead, he just continues staring at Miki, waiting for her to eventually blink—she always does. Because Shouta never loses.

…

…

During one particularly chilly evening, Wakana drops by to check up on Miki. She is almost _appalled_ to find that Hizashi left his door open and goes into his apartment with the intent of lecturing him. She never lectures him. Instead, she just snaps a quick picture with her phone when she sees Miki nestled comfortably between Hizashi and Shouta, the three of them sleeping soundly within a sleeping bag. It seems a bit crowded, but Hizashi and Shouta don't mind much, likely due to how cold the room is.

" _Is the heater working?"_ It likely isn't, which would explain why the three of them are so close. _"How cute…"_

Wakana makes sure to lock the door when she leaves, deciding that everyone makes mistakes. It happens—so she just left Hizashi a note that tells him to be more careful and that she won't be back until New Year's. She doesn't mean to burden her nephew any longer, but shit happens and all Wakana can do is hope that she and Hansuke can handle it. On the bright side, it doesn't seem like Hizashi is having any issues watching Miki, so it should be fine if he watches her a little while longer.

Though, just in case, Wakana had left an envelope of money on the kitchen table. She even put in a little more than usual—just because Shouta's there.

" _I'll definitely have to invite him to the wedding."_ Wakana smiles as she adds Shouta's name to her list of invitees. Afterwards, she goes on her way to meet up with Hansuke at a café.

…

…

The first thing Shouta makes Hizashi buy, using the money Wakana had left him, is a space heater. The minute its set up, Shouta curls up around it in his sleeping bag and refuses to move.

"I could just buy you one for your place," Hizashi suggests as he reaches out to pull Miki away from the space heater. "Don't get too close."

By now, Miki's ears have healed completely, and her hearing had returned. She looks at her cousin with the blankest expression she can make before sticking out her tongue at him. "Not dumb…"

Shouta huffs out a laugh. "She knows better, Hizashi."

"I know." Hizashi just doesn't want to take any risks, since Miki still has some issues maintaining her balance. "Also, when are you going to stop picking my lock?"

"The sooner you learn how to answer the door faster," Shouta replies.

Hizashi stares at Shouta for a moment…then grins widely at him. "I'll make you a copy of my key."

If that's what he wanted, then all Shouta had to do was ask…

…

…

Miki is getting better and better at walking with each passing day. Eventually, she manages just enough to _finally_ go to the bathroom on her own. Hizashi doesn't even question it, as it just means he no longer has to change any of her diapers. He assumes that Miki just figured it out on her own. He has caught her staring at random signs they've come across—one of which happened to be in a convenience store restroom.

"She's a smart kid," he tells Shouta.

"Could be she also has an intelligence Quirk," Shouta suggests. "Wouldn't know unless you get her tested."

"Should I?" Hizashi turns to look at Miki, who is currently going through a couple of children's books that they've checked out for her from a nearby library.

"Not really." Shouta doesn't see much of a point in having Miki tested. "It only matters if she's interested in what those government-funded grants have to offer."

The grants are meant to encourage people with certain Quirks to go into fields that are best suited for them, like how a healing Quirk would benefit the most within the field of medical science. Even Shouta's Quirk would have its uses there, especially when it concerns pediatrics. It had been tempting, but Shouta had long since decided that he wanted to become a hero, which is why he is attending Yuuei Academy. He chose to take the exam and he passed it, so that's that.

"By the way, when's your birthday again?" Hizashi never got around to asking Shouta and it hasn't been that long since Miki's first birthday.

"November 8th." Shouta regrets giving Hizashi an answer almost immediately when he started whining about why he never said anything about it.

"How can you just let your birthday go by like that?!" There goes the rest of Hizashi's week, because now he has to spend it finding Shouta the perfect present!

"It's no big deal…" Shouta mumbles before burrowing deeper into his sleeping bag.

" **That's wrong**!" Hizashi says in English as he crosses his arms in front of himself in an X-formation.

" **Wrong**!" Miki repeats after her cousin and mimics his appearance.

Shouta looks at the two with weary eyes and just sighs, continuing to look unenthused. Though, it doesn't last when Hizashi holds a cat plush to his face. It's mostly black in coloration, with half-lidded eyes that give it a look of exhaustion.

"Happy Birthday, Shouta!" Hizashi exclaims with a wide smile on his face. "I bought this on an impulse since it reminded me of you and since I never got you anything—it's yours."

Shouta stares at the plush for a good few minutes. He doesn't blink or say anything, but he does reach out and pulls the plush into his sleeping bag. After another minute of silence, he finally says, "Thank you."

 _Clap! Clap! Clap!_

That's when Miki starts clapping her hands in such an excited fashion as she yells out, "Happy Birthday, Shouta!"

She's absolutely trembling with excitement, in ways that remind Shouta of Hizashi. It's honestly adorable…not that he'll ever say that out loud.

A few days later, Hizashi gives him a box of salmiakki and pair of novelty cat socks that have grip pads on the soles that resemble a cat's paw. Shouta just shoves the socks into his bag without saying a word and then opens the box of salmiakki. He gets a good laugh out of sharing one with Miki and watching her reaction.

"Salty!" she spits out.

"That's for stealing my instant noodles." Shouta playfully ruffles Miki's hair. "We're even now."

Later on, he buys her a steamed bun to make up for the prank. But until then, Miki refuses to speak to him and takes to hiding behind Hizashi to avoid even looking at him.

…

…

It surprises Hizashi with how quickly time passes when Wakana finally drops by to pick up Miki. It's the day before New Year's Eve and Wakana shows up in the middle of the day, with Hansuke at her side.

"So you two _did_ get married." Shouta is there, as usual, looking less than impress that his deductions were correct. "That resting bitch face of hers says all."

Hansuke sputters, not expecting Shouta to be so blunt. "Shouta-kun, _please_!"

"He's just teasing!" Hizashi gives Shouta a hearty slap on the back. "Right, Shouta?"

"Hmm…" Shouta decides not to say anything else, since Wakana is glaring at him.

"I hope she hasn't been too much trouble—did you get her a new headset?" Wakana messes with the headset covering Miki's ears. "Sooo much nicer-looking than the ones I got her—who made these?"

"Izumi Mao—it's still a work in progress," Hizashi explains. "That's her third pair so far, since they don't last long. Izumi says that they've made considerable progress since they first started."

"I see, I see!" Wakana nods her head. For a work in progress, it still looks impressive. "Can you do me a favor and hand this to Maocchi the next time you see them? I would certainly love to work with them in the future."

Hizashi nods his head and pockets the business card that Wakana hands him. He's not sure when he'll see Mao again, but it should certainly make them happy that all of their hard work has paid off in some way.

"So why else are you here?" Shouta asks somewhat bluntly. "You're definitely not just here to pick up Miki."

"Correct you are!" Wakana chirps, taking a moment to gently prod Shouta on the nose. "We're also here to invite you over for New Year's—I'm sure you two have nothing better to do anyways!"

Silence…

"I'm right, aren't I?" Wakana giggles. "Anyways, pack your stuff, kiddos! We leave in an hour!"

…

It feels strange to be back home. Miki had grown too used to living with Hizashi that it takes her some time getting used to knowing where everything is again. She's walking a lot more often, no longer having issues with maintaining her balance. She plays around with some of the toys her parents had gotten her while they were gone. She throws a ball at Shouta, laughing out loud when he lets it hit him on the head.

"You're slow!" she tells him, even though she knows better than to mess with him. Really, she shouldn't mess with the guy too much—but she can't help it. It's just so _fun_!

"At least I can run," he tells her, knowing fully well that she can't run.

Miki puffs up her cheeks. _"Fucking rude!"_

But it's the truth!

"The truth hurts, Miki!" Hizashi laughs. "You'll get it eventually."

And that's also the truth. She has all the time in the world to do anything if she puts her mind to it. What she wants to do, however, is a question she hasn't yet figured out. Does she want to do something with the Quirk she has? Or does she want to live her life as normally as possible?

She's seen what exactly her cousin has done while he's been attending Yuuei Academy. It's a lot more interesting than what Miki recalls doing in her past life as a university student.

" _Should I double major again?"_ She never intended to be a communications major (and she certainly didn't expect to add chemistry as a second major), but that's where digital media design got her when she decided to pick that instead of art and communication theory completely won her favor due to its _fascinating_ subject material on human interaction. _"It'd be nice to see how much has changed, since Quirks exist…"_

She's also curious about how the field of science has changed. Just how much of it is still the same?

" _I got a lot of reading to do…"_ When she can actually _read_. In the meantime, Shouta has done a decent job of introducing her to hiragana after being asked one too many times to read something for her. _"God, I can't believe Present Mic's my cousin…"_

Of course, Yamada Hizashi is still a student at Yuuei Academy—but it's still him nonetheless. He's a nice guy, if loud—but Miki can handle that. She can even handle knowing that he's friends with Aizawa Shouta, because she can depend on him to keep her cousin in check. It's never boring with the two of them around, so she honestly has no idea how she's going to adjust once they head back to their apartment.

" _I'm gonna miss them…"_ At the very least, she can take comfort in the idea that Wakana has Hizashi set as her designated babysitter—better him than All Might, even though he wasn't that bad of a babysitter. It's just that he'd sometimes forget that she was there, with the way she was strapped to his leg. _"I wonder how he's doing…"_

Likely still working his way on becoming the Symbol of Peace that he'll eventually be known as…

" _I could be a hero, too…"_ the thought suddenly crosses her mind. She could be like her parents, with how they have a fanbase of their own. _"I can make a career out of that…"_

Decisions, decisions… If she knew more about the world that she was reincarnated into, then maybe she'd have a better idea of what she wanted to do. Too bad she died when there were only like…eighty-eight chapters out. And yeah, shit happened, but she doesn't know how to even go about approaching that crap.

 _Fuck it._

"Hizashi!" she calls out to her cousin. "Let's play!"

Miki decides she'll think more about it when she's older. In the meantime, she wants to make the most of her remaining time with Hizashi. Besides, her head is starting to hurt from thinking too much…

…

…

After New Year's, Wakana and Hansuke leave Miki with their hero agency while they're on the job. There's a small space designated for her use, with a few toys here and there that a flighty brunette with sparkling eyes had picked out for her. She talks nonstop, moving from once place to another within a matter of seconds.

"I thought you'd like a really cute doll since you're such a cute kid!" Hanazawa Megumi says as she lifts Miki into the air. "But if you don't like it, you just gotta tell me and I'll get you something better! Don't feel so shy around me—I'm a friend of your parents!"

Miki finds herself feeling very disoriented by the time Megumi sets her down in her playpen. She ends up taking a short nap afterwards, due to how little energy she has left after her brief interaction with Megumi. It doesn't get any better, because when she wakes up, Megumi is there, asking her if she needs anything.

Thankfully, Megumi's coworker manages to get her to back off by telling her that she's needed elsewhere. That is how Miki becomes acquainted with the head of her parents' hero agency, Okumura Asuka. Asuka is a tall, fair-skinned woman with short, white hair and a beauty mark under her left eye. She stands out considerably at the workplace, being the only one of her colleagues without a Quirk. That does not make her weak, as she proves her physical strength when she axe-kicks her desk after being given a poorly filed report by an extremely clumsy intern.

"Do try to do a better job next time." She smiles sweetly at the intern, acting as though she didn't almost break her own desk. "Now get to it!"

The next person that Miki meets is Mochizuki Rui, who is a tall man with brown skin and dark hair. He has a prominent underbite, with sharp teeth that only add to his already intimidating appearance. His appearance is mostly deceiving, though, as he is actually a lot friendlier than his looks denote. He is the one who Miki interacts with the most, as he's one of the few people who actually take the time to play with her so that she isn't too bored at the office.

"I'll be asking your parents if it's fine to take you out every once in a while," he tells her as he lets Miki ride on his shoulders.

Rui is an absolute sweetheart who sometimes gets a bit too flustered around his fluffy-haired coworker, Iruma Retsuko. She's a lot shorter than him, with orange hair and somewhat tan skin. Miki finds her rather endearing and can understand why Rui has a crush on her, so a part of her starts to think of ways to carefully push them together.

Apparently, she isn't the only one who thinks so, as public relations manager, Shirogane Reina, often talks to Rui in an attempt to get him to be more open to Retsuko. Reina is about as short as Retsuko, with sandy blonde hair that goes down to her shoulders and pale skin. She is often seen with her cellphone in hand and every time she laughs, she always sounds so flat and deadpan.

" _It's a nice sound,"_ Miki finds herself thinking, which pushes her to try and make Reina laugh more often.

The last person that Miki meets is Owari Maki, who is a muscular lady with black hair and an impeccable eye for cosmetics and fashion. She is the one who ensures that Wakana and Hansuke are always presentable when they're on the job and the first thing she does, when first introduced to Miki, is tie two pink bobbles into her hair and then goes on her way.

Her parents' hero agency is a lot livelier than she had ever expected it to be. It's nowhere near close of a match to her cousin's place and Yuuei Academy, but it still manages to keep her from being bored out of her wits. She still misses her cousin and his friend, though…

Thankfully, Miki gets to see them again come late March, when Wakana drags the two of them over to her hero agency after they get out of school for spring vacation. The two are done with their first year at Yuuei Academy and Wakana wants to celebrate that by taking them out for the flower-viewing in Tokyo. She treats her entire hero agency, too, for babysitting Miki.

It is there that Hansuke and Wakana pass out their wedding invitations. And that is how Shouta and Hizashi find out about the picture that Wakana had taken of them when she had dropped by for a surprise visit.

"Aww, how cute!" Maki is absolutely enamored with the picture she sees on the wedding invitation.

"Wouldn't it have been more fitting if they used a picture of themselves?" Rui asks, not knowing what to make of the invitation.

"I would have happily provided some pictures, too." Reina holds out her phone for everyone to see. "Bam—got a picture of the two high-school sweethearts."

"Why are they in the infirmary?" Hizashi asks, taking a moment to lift up his sunglasses. The picture is of Wakana and Hansuke in Yuuei Academy's infirmary.

"The two had some issues working together." Reina swipes her screen. "Mostly because Wakana wasn't used to having her Quirk enhanced. Hansuke's Quirk takes some time getting used to if you're not used to the boost. Here's visit number fifteen, when they accidentally dragged the entire student body into it because Wakana reached a new pitch."

"Geez, you're so embarrassing!" Wakana whines in a purposely childish manner.

"Why were you at Yuuei?" Shouta asks Reina.

"I wanted to—my Quirk has its uses." Reina swipes her screen again. "Decided I wanted to work at a hero agency for public relations. Easy money, you know."

It also helps that Reina did it to keep an eye on Retsuko. That's where she met everyone else.

"The Department of Management is excellent for what it does," Asuka explains. "Which is educating students who are interested in all other aspects of heroics, like managing hero agencies. Even someone without a Quirk can manage."

"It can be a bit much at times, but it's still a great place to learn." Retsuko smiles warmly.

"Didn't you want to be a hero, Maki?" Megumi turns to Maki as she's eating sakuramochi. "I wanted to be a hero, too…but then I realized that I was better suited for paperwork! I mean, no one else works as fast me!"

"Not everyone can be a hero." Maki found that out the hard way. It had been depressing for her when she was placed in Yuuei's General Department.

"But you don't need to be a hero to help people." Asuka gives Maki a few reassuring pats on the back. "Heroes help those who need it… but who helps them when they need it the most?"

"We do!" Maki smiles brightly. "You got a place with us if you're ever in need of a hero agency!"

"Thanks," is all Shouta can say as he continues staring at the wedding invitation in his hands.

"And here's a picture of the two absolutely _flopping_ in their first debut!" Reina proudly proclaims, showing off yet another picture of Hansuke and Wakana.

"Reina-san, please!" Hansuke reaches out for Reina's phone, which she pulls away from him at the last second. "I thought you took care of that!"

"I did," Reina says. "Why do you think you have a fanbase? I focused on those who reacted the most positively to the screw up and nurtured them into the fans you have now. All it takes is a little nudge and uncovering a few scandals from your haters to keep your negative fanbase quiet."

…

…

"If you ever piss me off, I highly advise you to avoid social media—my eyes see all." Reina snaps a picture of Miki, who is currently stuffing her face with sakuramochi. "By the way, everyone is taking well to your daughter, thanks to All Might. Good job, Wakana."

"I only did it cuz he was her first word." Wakana laughs awkwardly. She hadn't expected it to actually benefit her in some way…

"It only became an issue when our lawyers got involved." Hansuke sighs wearily.

"You're welcome, by the way." Reina takes a sip from her glass.

"I still have nightmares about the paperwork." Rui runs his fingers through his hair. "Megumi picked the absolute best time to get sick…"

"And now you all know how much you need me!" Megumi playfully sticks out her tongue. "So have you picked out your outfits yet? Wait—I'm getting ahead of myself! Is it traditional or Western? You're both mixed, so I'm curious with how it's going to go. Either way, I'm sure you two will look lovely!"

"Kaa-san's was Western, if I recall correctly…" Hizashi muses. "With the white dress and all."

"Ohh, goodie!" Maki exclaims. "That means I have free-range!"

"But we haven't confirmed anything yet." A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Hansuke's face. _"Not that they're wrong…"_

"It's okay, Han-tan—they figured it out already." Wakana wraps her arm around Hansuke's shoulder. "There's no need to play dumb—by the way, I got Best Jeanist to officiate our wedding."

"Do I even want to know _how_?" Shouta never knows what to expect when it comes to Wakana.

"He owed me a favor." Wakana twirls a lock of her hair. "I also invited All Might and Endeavor, since they're the reason we got married."

"Oh, this is gonna be _good_ for your popularity." Reina is going to have a field day with this. "Might as well go call up All Might's agency. I should probably do the same with Endeavor and Best Jeanist…"

…

The wedding is in November, just a few weeks before Miki's second birthday, at some fancy hotel in Tokyo. Miki knows next to nothing about the people that show up. She just smiles and waves, resisting the urge she has to mess with her hair while its pulled up in an elegant-looking bun. She wears a plum-colored dress with a layered skirt that brushes the tops of her knees. It has pink-colored accents and gold embroidery, with a ribbon tied neatly around the waist. It's a rather nice dress that Miki doesn't mind wearing, though she still wishes that she was elsewhere, not dealing with absolute strangers.

" _I don't know who the fuck you are!"_ Miki forces a smile when she finally meets her grandparents, who welcome her with open arms. She also meets friends of her parents—who are a lot more surprised to know that she _exists_. Then All Might shows up and all attention immediately shifts over to him.

He is dressed rather formally in a suit that just _barely_ fits his muscular physique. He stands out considerably, with not only his appearance, but his popularity as well. Reina takes the initiative and shoves Miki into All Might's arms. She snaps a picture of the two of them and then goes on her way to inform Wakana about All Might's arrival.

Miki stares at All Might, who only stares right back at her. She smiles at him and then reaches up to pat him on the cheek. "Hi, All Might! Missed you!"

She laughs when All Might ruffles her hair. It's a rather affectionate gesture, though it ends up pulling her hair out of its bun, which pisses off Maki. And so All Might spends the next three minutes apologizing profusely to Maki, who does her best to fix Miki's hair. There's not much she can do with it on such a short notice, so Maki pulls half of Miki's hair up and ties a pink ribbon to it. It doesn't have the same look as the elegant bun that Maki put her heart into, but Miki at least looks a lot more presentable.

"Nice job!" All Might tells her.

Maki wipes her face carefully with a handkerchief. "Try to be careful next time…"

Maki walks off after that, leaving Miki alone with All Might again. As soon as she's out of earshot, Miki gestures at All Might to kneel down and soon as he gets close enough, she whispers into his ear and says, "Thank you."

Miki's never been a fan of having her hair pulled into a bun, so she is immensely grateful for the change in hairstyle. She likes the look, too, since the ribbon goes well with her hair and the dress that she's wearing. _"Looking good!"_

All Might laughs, finding the sight of her fussing over the mirror somewhat humorous. Miki just smiles at him, thinking it funny as well. She's never been one to care too much over her appearance, but now—she decides that there isn't any harm in starting. At the very least, she wants to be a bit more fashion conscious instead of just staying the same depressive mess she was in her past life. Of course, knowing the way that Maki keeps a close eye on her parents' attire, if she doesn't do it herself, then Maki will.

There are other heroes that show up, though the one that Miki recognizes the most is Best Jeanist. She almost doesn't recognize him without the denim, with the way he's actually dressed formally. He wears a muffler that covers the lower half of his face, which prompts Miki to make a sudden realization.

" _I've never seen his face…"_ Well, fuck her sideways! This is going to be bothering her for the rest of her life! _"And I thought Kakashi was bad…"_

But everything changed when she saw Hatake Kakashi's face. She had a chance to do that…but Best Jeanist? Nope.

" _Chapter eighty-fucking-eight."_ She's going to have so many regrets about the future if she keeps thinking about it. Her head's starting to hurt, so that's a good sign that she should stop… "Hizashi!"

And it looks like her cousin has finally arrived, with Shouta at his side, looking as though he'd rather be anywhere but here. And that is how Miki introduces All Might to her cousin and his friend…

…

The ceremony goes off well without any issues, despite Miki being completely _bored_ out of her wits. She just about bolts to her parents the instant she can, allowing herself to act like the child she physically is. Fortunately, the wedding reception is a lot livelier than the ceremony itself, so Miki has the time of her life just hiding away under a table—because she can, and she _needs_ a break. She eats completely in peace, without anyone bothering her in any way.

"Oh…sorry…" At least until some random boy peeks under the tablecloth. He likely heard her dropping her fork onto a plate and just wanted to investigate. "Umm…your eyes…"

He points to his own eyes, which are two different colors. One of them is gray, like one of Miki's eyes, while the other is a brilliant shade of turquoise—completely different from the amaranth color she had inherited from her father. Miki almost drops her plate when the boy moves in closer to get a better look. That's when she notices his uniquely colored hair—one half being white and the other being red.

"I'm Todoroki Shouto!" the boy introduces himself, immediately confirming Miki's suspicions. "You?"

"Hibiki Miki—I'm not here." Except she is, and she has no fucking clue on how to react to Todoroki Shouto. He looks a lot more cheerful than she had ever expected him to be—likely because he still hasn't had boiling water thrown on his face and his mother hasn't been sent to a psychiatric ward. _"Shit—that's gonna happen!"_

Okay, _now_ Miki gives a fuck about the future!

"But you _are_ here!" Shouto says, snapping Miki out of her thoughts. "You're right there!"

Oh god, this boy is too pure for his own good!

"Don't tell anyone." Miki likes her privacy, even though it's currently being breached by Shouto—why is he here?!

"Shouto, what are you doing under there?" Oh god—Miki _knows_ that voice! She just about screams when Shouto's father, Todoroki Enji, looks under the table. He looks less than amused to see his son under the table, though before he has a chance to say anything else, Miki absolutely _freaks_ and throws her food into his face.

 _Smack!_

It takes her a few seconds afterwards to realize what she just did…and the first thing she says is, "My steak!"

There goes a good, medium-rare steak—completely wasted on _trash_!

"Give it back!" She throws her mashed potatoes at Enji, which sticks to his face. He leaves right after, just narrowly avoiding another handful of mashed potatoes. "Trash!"

She puffs up her cheeks, hot tears stinging her eyes. She grabs a napkin and wipes her hands. It looks like she's going to have to get another steak…which means she'll have to leave the table.

"I can get more food if you don't wanna leave…" That's when she remembers that Shouto is _there_. He seems a lot more cheerful after that, with the way he's smiling so widely. "Stay!"

He leaves without saying another word, leaving Miki on her own for the next few minutes. He returns with two plates full of food, one of which he hands to Miki before sitting down right next to her. He eats his food in silence, while Miki just stares at her plate. It takes her about a minute to convince herself to eat it, deciding what's done is done.

" _I'm boned…"_ She is _so_ grounded after this…

"I'm gonna be two in January!" Shouto suddenly says, deciding to break the ice. "You?"

"This month." Miki doesn't know when, but it's coming. _"Guess that makes me older, then…"_

By like a month, at least…

…

…

 _Should I say something?_

"Can I be your friend?!" Well her Quirk picked the _best_ time to activate itself! "S-Sorry—I'm…loud…"

She averts her gaze, not knowing how else to react. She's pretty sure that just about everyone heard that, too.

" _There_ you are!" Welp, Hizashi just found her. "You're gonna miss the cake cutting and…oh, hello. You make a new friend?"

"Yes!" Shouto exclaims with a wide smile on his face. He's not as loud as Miki was, but he's still loud enough to be heard. "We're friends! Right, Miki?"

Miki doesn't know what to say. She just stares at Shouto for a moment and then nods her head.

…

Surprisingly enough, Wakana and Hansuke are not at all mad over what Miki had done to Shouto's father. If anything, Wakana just about _dies_ from laughter, with even Hansuke having some issues trying not to laugh.

"You must've scared her," Shouta, surprisingly, comes to Miki's defense. "She doesn't take too well to surprises."

"We learned that the hard way," Hizashi laughs.

Enji says nothing as he continues wiping his face with a napkin. He is less than amused with Miki's antics, considering the track record he has with her.

"We'll pay for the dry-cleaning!" Wakana pats Enji on the shoulder. "If the stain doesn't come out, then we'll pay for a replacement! Accidents happens!"

"They definitely do." Hansuke nods his head. "At least she didn't rupture any eardrums."

"Although…it seems she's made friends with your son!" Wakana smiles as she watches Miki interact with Shouto. The two are currently waiting in line for a piece of cake. Shouto seems to be the more talkative one out of the two, with Miki acting a bit more withdrawn than usual. As soon as the two receive their cake, they disappear under a table. "Aww, how cute!"

"It's nice to see Shouto-kun making friends with someone his age!" Shouto's mother, Rei, seems to appreciate the interaction between the two kids just as much as Wakana.

"Hey, we should totally organize a playdate!" Wakana's eyes practically gleam in the light.

"Oh—is that okay, Enji?" Rei looks at Enji.

"It's fine," Enji huffs out. "I expect Miki to behave, though."

"Great!" Wakana clasps her hands together. "I'll drop her off tomorrow at your place—where do you live, by the way?"

Shouta and Hizashi laugh behind their hands, knowing fully well when someone has walked right into Wakana's trap. Hansuke just shakes his head and sighs. He only hopes that they won't be too much of a bother for Enji's home life…

…

…

Miki has no idea what to think when she's left at the Todoroki Abode. It looks exactly as she last remembers it— _huge_ , with a traditional Japanese design. She lets Shouto drag her to his room, while her mother talks with his mother. He has so many different toys, of which he shares with Miki.

It takes her about a few days to adjust to her new situation, in which Shouto spends most of it trying to ease her out of her shell. Once he succeeds, the two go about playing games without any issues.

At one point, Rei finds Miki hiding in a cabinet during a game of hide-and-seek. Barely a few seconds later, Shouto pops up and pulls Miki out.

"Found you!" he says.

"No fair—your mom found me!" Miki complains.

"Still found you!" Shouto laughs.

"He's right!" Rei agrees.

Miki puffs up her cheeks. "Fine! You win! Go hide!"

She finds him less than ten minutes later, thanks to her hearing picking up the sound of his heartbeat. Shouto is less than impressed with her victory, but accepts defeat. The two then go into the kitchen to eat some snacks.

Later on, Shouto and Miki fall asleep on the veranda. Shouto sleeps on his back, with Miki curled up against his left side, having been drawn to its comforting warmth. The two seem far too comfortable to even care that they could sleep inside, where it's much warmer. Rei drops by only to cover them with a blanket, deciding to wake them up later if it gets any colder.

…

Shouto surprises Miki on her second birthday with a purple-colored rabbit plush. It's soft to the touch and quite comforting to embrace.

"I got it 'cause it reminded me of you." Shouto honestly didn't know what kind of gift that Miki would like. He thought a lot about it while he was at the store and decided that a plush toy would work best after his mother recommended it to him. He knows that his sister, Fuyumi, has some plush toys in her room. _"Girls like stuffed animals…right?"_

It's a little too late to probably ask that, but from the looks of it, Miki seems to like the plush toy from the way she hugs it close to her chest.

"Thank you…" Miki finds the rabbit oddly nostalgic, as it reminds her quite fondly of the knitted purple rabbit plush she had in her past life. It was a gift she received on Easter, just shortly before her eighth birthday. It was such a simple plush, too, but it meant so much to her, for reasons that involve the story of the Velveteen Rabbit. She has no idea why it stuck with her for so long, but it just did and now…it feels as though she had gotten one part of her past life back. "I love it!"

"That's good!" Shouto smiles widely. "You wanna play tag now?"

"Sure!" Even though Miki hates running, she'll do it for Shouto.

She ends up running into one of Shouto's older siblings and getting a bloody nose from the impact. Fuyumi absolutely freaks, even though Miki is as calm as can be, while Shouto just runs out to get some napkins.

About an hour later, Rei walks by and sees Fuyumi using a set of iroha-karuta cards to play with Miki and Shouto. She seems to be having fun, the way she watches Miki and Shouto scramble for the correct card after she says a phrase. By the end of it, Miki and Shouto tie, so Fuyumi starts up another round.

…

Miki spends the New Year with Shouto, as her parents are busy with an event and Shouta and Hizashi are spending the holiday with their families. She is dressed in a white kimono with a pink obi and sits next to Shouto, who is dressed in a dark blue kimono. The two are currently slurping up a bowl of toshikoshi soba, which Rei had made for the occasion. Shouto's siblings are nearby, talking about events that have happened over the year. Rei sometimes jumps in, mentioning other events that have happened…such as Wakana and Hansuke's wedding.

Shouto is only happy to bring up the fact that Miki had thrown food at Enji's face. Miki nearly chokes on her soba when he brings this up, as it causes the rest of his siblings to start laughing. A part of her realizes that she's never going to live this down…

" _Could be worse."_ At least it's Todoroki Enji and not anyone else who actually matters…

A week later, Miki gives Shouto an artic fox plush for his birthday. She doesn't know what to expect, since she's not sure if Shouto even likes stuffed animals. The only reasons she chose it in the first place was because it seemed like the most fitting gift for him. He got her a rabbit plush because it reminded him of her…so she got him an artic fox plush because it reminded her of him.

"It's okay if you don't like it…" Miki tells Shouto.

"But I _do_ like it!" he says with a smile on his face. "Thank you!"

Miki blinks a few times and then averts her gaze, feeling far too bashful to even look at Shouto. Shouto is honestly too good for this world…

 _I have to protect him…_

It honestly isn't fair that his future holds so much trauma for him…

 _Trauma that he doesn't even deserve._

She hates that she can't do much for him or his mother… All she can do is watch and hope that nothing happens while she is there.

…

…

Miki isn't always at Shouto's place, due to the way her parents try to space out her playdates to avoid overstaying their welcome in any way. Sometimes, she's left at her parents' hero agency for the day, under the watchful eyes of its employees. It's the middle of February when Retsuko and Rui are entrusted to take her out to the park for a much-needed change in scenery. She's rather withdrawn at first, not yet used to talking to other children around her age. When she tries to interact with them, her Quirk picks the worst time to activate itself by raising the volume of her voice. She ends up scaring a few children, causing them to run off crying to their parents. Not knowing how else to react, Miki runs back to Rui and Retsuko and demands that they take her back to the office.

They try again the next day, but Miki still has little luck. She's purposely avoided, due to the terrible first impression she's left on the other children. It's annoying, but she honestly doesn't blame them… That still doesn't mean she likes the way rejection feels.

It feels absolutely horrible, as though someone is stabbing her right in the chest. She feels like an absolute freak, when she is anything but. She doesn't even give a damn about making any friends—she doesn't need them, and yet…it still _hurts_.

 _It really fucking_ _ **hurts**_ _._

She really wants to cry, but she holds it in and she tries to distract herself by making a sand castle at the sandbox. She has it all to herself since everyone else pretty much left. Her sand castle isn't even that much of a castle, but rather, some sort of massive hill that she just made out of sand. She kicks it down as soon as she's done, channeling most of her anger through every kick she aims at her sand castle. She feels a lot better after that, though her chest still won't stop hurting…

"You okay?" someone asks her.

Miki wipes her eyes on the back of her sleeve. "'M fine…"

She's _not_ fine.

"Are you sure? You don't look like it." Whoever it is that's talking to her, they sure are persistent…

Miki's almost tempted to tell them to fuck off. Instead, she says, "I'm…not."

It surprises her with how easily she just gives up. She's usually better than this and yet—something just tells her that it's okay.

" _It's okay to tell the truth, yeah?"_

"It feels bad…" Miki sniffs. "Really bad… _hurts_."

She feels a hand patting her reassuringly on the back a few times. She wipes her eyes again and turns, wanting to see who it is that's talking to her. Her eyes go wide when she finds herself face-to-face with a boy with messy indigo-colored hair and tired-looking purple eyes.

"I'm Shinsou Hitoshi—do you wanna be friends?" he asks.

She blinks a few times, not knowing what to say. After a minute, she starts to feel something tugging at the back of her head. It's somewhat disorienting and it stops as soon as it starts.

"Sorry…" Hitoshi scratches at the back of his head. "I didn't mean to do that…"

He seems rather embarrassed, likely because he tried using his Quirk on her.

" _So that's how it feels to be brainwashed…"_ Miki never thought she'd ever be on the receiving end of that particular Quirk. And yet—here she is, standing face-to-face with Shinsou Hitoshi.

"I'll…leave." Hitoshi turns his back to Miki. He seems so defeated, with the way he just gives up. It's likely not the first time that this has happened to him, which would explain why he doesn't even try.

He's about ready to walk away when Miki suddenly finds her voice. "Hibiki Miki—let's play tag!"

Her excitement gets the better of herself, so she comes off louder than usual. However, Hitoshi doesn't seem to mind from the way he turns around and smiles at her.

…

…

…

* * *

A/N Edit 6-18-18: Changing Fuyuhi to Rei in order to match up with the canon names for Shouto's mom, in which Noa is fucking amazed that she and a Todoroki bro were named so soon after I got back to this fic. Lmao, but yeah, Fuyuhi had always been a placeholder. I just didn't think it'd be this soon.

Fucking hell, have another long chapter and YES, here you have Todoroki Shouto and Shinsou Hitoshi making friends with Miki! I'll let you guys know now that this wasn't what I had planned out originally.

So much has changed in the past two years that I was fucking GONE from this fic. Please do appreciate the time and effort I put into this chapter, because I pretty much put off studying for my Japanese II final. I still have time, but hell, it's gonna be close!

By the by, I'm actually taking Japanese now, so that's a thing! Seriously, I'm so happy that they started offering it at my university. You learn so much, although I'm still struggling with kanji.

Anyways, I still haven't caught up with BNHA/MHA yet, so do avoid giving me any spoilers past chapter 100. I need to freaking read when I have the time and am not being stared down at by finals and papers.

Also, as a heads-up, Miki DOES have ADHD. More specifically, she has the combined hyperactive-impulsive inattentive subtype. Along with this, she also has an auditory processing disorder and rejection sensitive dysphoria—which is extremely common in people with ADHD. Like, she might look like she's overreacting to something so trivial, but that's just how rejection sensitive dysphoria works! It makes rejection hurt a lot more than it usually does, to the point that it's almost indescribable—like…it just hurts so _wrong_.

Being an SI OC also means that Miki has my anxiety and depression as well, which makes for a fun mix when you have ADHD! And by fun, I mean a pain in the _ass_!

Also, don't mind me bringing in the OC Inquisition—they always pop up when I least expected it. I just realized far too soon that I couldn't go without making some. Credit goes to **jadecore/PartyFavors** and **Alicitzen** for helping me with Izumi Mao, who has a bat-like echolocation Quirk that gives them sensitive ears and light-sensitive eyes.

Credit also goes to the rest of the Gacha Meme Hell discord chat for enabling me (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, **TheOnlyN** ) for what has happened in this chapter, from Shouto's first meeting with Miki, to Miki even meeting Hitoshi. And also for the hero agency OCs—by the way, spot the reference, because it's there!

I'll give you a hint: It's from a Neflix Original anime. :P

Anyways, I'm glad everyone's been liking this story so far! And I really appreciate the reviews I've been getting. It's not much, but it still means a lot to me! Don't ever feel shy to drop a review! I won't bite! And do feel free to point out any of my mistakes—I'm running on no fucking sleep right now and am somewhat jittery from the coffee I just drank!

So that's about it for now. I gotta cram a bit for my Japanese interview, so until next time, everyone! KD out! XD


	4. Uproar

It's sometime in October when Enji comes across his son playing a somewhat disturbing game with Miki. Most of everything he sees is out of context, all he can see is that they are playing with Shouto's action figures…with his figure at the center of what appears to be some sort of sacrificial ritual.

" _What the hell?"_ Enji has no idea what to make of the sight of the Endeavor action figure being wrapped tightly in sewing thread. The action figure is at the center of a make-shift prison, surrounded by the action figures of other various heroes, with the one of All Might standing prominently at the front as the supposed figure of authority.

"The others demand a sacrifice!" Shouto's voice is clear and concise, his expression grim. "Their thirst for blood is insatiable!"

"Into the pit!" he hears Miki exclaim before watching her maneuver the All Might action figure to pull the Endeavor action figure out of the make-shift prison. The action figure is freed from its binds…

 _Thud!_

And then promptly thrown into a trash can that is crudely labeled, in surprisingly _accurate_ English: "THE PIT."

Enji stares at the scene before him for a minute…and then promptly closes the door. The two have certainly grown considerably during these past few months, in ways that Miki was _finally_ getting a grip on controlling her own Quirk. The same could also be said about Shouto, who uses his Quirk for the most mundane situations…

"Ice them!" And not-so-mundane. "The evil has been defeated!"

"But for how long?!" Shouto asks. "He can melt the ice!"

"Then throw him into the pit!" Miki says before throwing a frozen Endeavor doll into the trash can. "He can reconsider his life actions until the ice completely melts!"

Shouto blinks a few times and then claps his hands. "That's amazing!"

 _Growl._

"I'm hungry…" he then says.

"To the kitchen!" Miki holds her finger up in the air in a childish manner.

And it is in the kitchen that Miki and Shouto come across Enji, who is home early from work.

"Shouto." Enji looks down at his own son.

"You're…home." Shouto's smile falls almost immediately.

"We're playing!" Miki immediately moves in and pulls Shouto closer to herself. "You gotta wait your turn!"

She opens a cabinet and shoves Shouto right in. She follows right after him, but not before sticking her tongue out at Enji and saying, "Occupied!"

 _Slam!_

She closes the cabinet door right behind her, leaving Enji alone in the kitchen to wonder how it came to be that his son had managed to befriend such a strange girl. His face contorts into a scowl when he recalls that it had been _his_ decision to go to her parents' wedding—a wedding which he _only_ attended in the first place because he heard that All Might would be there. Rei and Shouto were brought along on a whim—yet _another_ mistake that Enji had made. And this particular mistake of his had resulted in Shouto's first meeting with Miki, thus allowing the two to become friends.

Really, Enji only had himself to blame for this…and there is not a damn thing he can do about it—not when his reputation is at the complete mercy of public relations manager, Shirogane Reina. It had been a _terrible_ stroke of luck to discover that two of the most obscure heroes (in his honest opinion) were backed by one of the most _competent_ hero agencies around. The day he signed Wakana and Hansuke's marriage registration form was the day he lost every possible chance he had to escape any form of association with their hero agency.

The same could be said about All Might, but what concerns did that man even had?

" _Absolutely nothing…"_ Enji pinches the bridge of his nose when he hears peals of muffled laughter coming from behind the cabinet door. Were it not for the costs that were at stake, Enji would have long since separated Shouto from Miki. Instead, it just seems that today is yet another lost cause…

Basically, like any other day—except just as Enji was about to leave the kitchen, the ground started to shake. It happens so suddenly, without any warning, that Enji almost loses his balance. He slams his hand down on the table to maintain his balance, his ears soon picking up the sounds of screams coming from upstairs. It's soon followed by the sound of breaking glass and objects falling onto the ground.

" _What the fuck?!"_ Enji grits his teeth. His gaze focuses on the cabinet where he last remembers seeing Shouto and Miki. He rushes over to it and yanks the door open, nearly pulling it off its hinges when he reaches in to grab Miki and Shouto. He throws Miki over his shoulder and carries Shouto under his arm, getting up almost at once to head towards the stairs. He nearly loses his footing a few times, causing Miki and Shouto to shriek in turn.

The volume of the noises around them fluctuated between loud and quiet, a sure enough sign that Miki's Quirk was all over the place as a result of her emotional distress. Enji can feel Shouto's ice beginning to chill his arm, which his flames quickly melt. He runs over to Fuyumi's room and calls out to her. When she doesn't respond at all, he kicks down the sliding door and yells, "Get out!"

Fuyumi is cowering in the corner of her room, with her hands clutching her head and tears streaming down her cheeks. The area around her is completely covered in frost, to the point that it's managed to change the temperature in her room. She chokes back a sob when Enji yells at her again. She sniffs and then gets up before running out of the room.

"Go get Natsuo!" he tells her.

It takes Fuyumi a few seconds to respond, still too terrified to make sense of anything. She runs over to the room across from hers and tries sliding open the door, only to find it frozen completely shut.

"I can't!" she cries out. "Natsuo, are you okay?!"

"I can't get out—I can't get out!" Natsuo's voice sobs out from behind the door. "I just wanted to get out and it just—get me out, pleasepleasepleaseplease! The shaking won't stop!"

"Step away from the door!" Enji intervenes, unable to stand by and watch things get even worse. He kicks down the door as soon as he's confirmed that Natsuo is no longer standing behind it.

Natsuo scrambles out of his room the instant his door hits the floor. He's an absolute mess, with snot running down his nose and tears rolling down his cheeks. He breaks down in Fuyumi's embrace, not caring at all about how he's been told that boys don't cry.

Enji says nothing, knowing fully well when to keep his mouth shut after years of experience with handling natural disasters. Terrified children are likely to cause even more damage during disasters, due to their inability to control their own Quirks under such duress. Natsuo and Fuyumi are only just managing, due to how close the two are as twins.

"You need to calm down, Touya— _Touya_!" His second son, however, seems to have lost all control over his own Quirk. Smoke starts to fill the air, blue flames spreading down the hallway like wildfire.

Natsuo reacts before Enji has a chance to, freezing the entire hallway in the process. It manages to stop most of the flames, but not those at the source of it.

Enji runs towards the source, which leads him to one of the rooms down the hallway. He hears shouting and crying coming from behind the still burning door. He lifts his foot with the intent to kick down the door, but stops when Rei does it instead.

She charges through the door, carrying Touya in her arms. She looks wide-eyed at Enji afterwards, looking absolutely terrified.

"I-I-I-I…!" She has issue speaking, unable to take her eyes off of Enji. Then, she screams and runs away from him, Touya still held closely to her chest. Natsuo and Fuyumi follow after her, leaving Enji alone in the hallway with Miki and Shouto.

"F-Fire!" Miki screams.

That's when Enji realizes that Shouto's left side is on fire! "Shouto!"

"It won't stop!" Shouto shrieks. "Are you mad at me?!"

"They're not mine, Shouto—they're _yours_!" Of all the ways for Enji to find out that Shouto's Quirk was a half-and-half of his and Rei's, it had to be through _this_! "You need to stay calm!"

"I'm trying—uwaaahhhh!" Shouto starts sobbing.

Miki soon does the same, her loud voice making Enji's ears ring. Enji bears with it, deciding that he's spent enough time screwing around. He makes his way downstairs and soon leaves the house. He joins up with Rei and the others, quickly handing Shouto and Miki over to her before going back inside the house to minimize the damage caused by any remaining flames.

The ground is still shaking and by the time it finally stops, more than five minutes have passed. Rei does her best to comfort the children, while also trying not to break down.

"Touya, what are you doing?" she asks, after noticing how quiet the red-haired boy has been.

Touya holds out his arms for his mother to see. "I still can't feel anything."

"T-T-Touya…?" Rei's eyes go wide.

Natsuo and Fuyumi are at an absolute loss with what they're seeing, with Shouto stammering and sputtering. It's such a grotesque sight and yet, Touya is as calm as ever, even as the fire continues to burn the skin on his arms and neck.

"Ahh…ahhh…" Miki doesn't know what to even think. There's a part of her that just _knows_ that this is all wrong. _"This is_ _ **all**_ _wrong!"_

She's at her limits, just barely managing to keep it under control. The headset around her head feels uncomfortably hot, that she just throws it down. That's when the first aftershock hit…and Miki _screams_.

…

…

The Todoroki family and Miki are treated for ruptured eardrums once they are taken to the hospital. Enji comes out mostly unscathed, having been inside of the house at the time that Miki had screamed. Apart from having ruptured eardrums and a few cuts and scrapes, Shouto, Fuyumi, and Natsuo are completely unharmed. Miki deals with some especially minor frostbite, caused from Shouto and his older siblings. Rei has a few burns caused by Touya's flames.

And Touya? Touya is taken immediately to the ICU for severe burns and frostbite, the latter of which was caused by his mother's Quirk. The burns were caused by Touya himself in an attempt to treat his frostbite. The numbness from the frostbite had left him unable to gauge the temperature of his own flames. He comes out later with permanent scarring on his arms, legs, and the area around his neck. He remains calm despite it all, mostly content to have regained all sense of feeling.

Rei is completely horrified, feeling as though it's all her fault for what had happened. Her repetitive apologies do not reach Touya, however, as he, like Natsuo, Rei, Shouto, and Miki, is still healing from the damage caused to his ears. Nonetheless, he pats his mother's arm as she holds him closely to her chest.

Shouto visits Miki in her room, providing some sort of comfort for her while the two continue to heal. They cling to each other when another aftershock shakes the hospital. It's not as intense as it could be, but it still manages to scare the two. Afterwards, the two go to Fuyumi and Natsuo's room. They watch the news on television with the twins, most of what is said going unheard by any of them.

Fuyumi proves to be an excellent security blanket of some sort, with the way Natsuo, Shouto, and Miki cling to her. She does not mind at all and continues watching the news. The topic soon shifts over to footage of a recording done at the scene of a disaster, where a bridge had collapsed.

" _Why…is this?"_ Miki doesn't know what to think. She can't hear shit, but when All Might appears on the screen, carrying various people on his back, with that iconic smile still on his face—she just knows that _this_ is it. _"This is his debut."_

" _ **Never fear! Why?! For I'm here!"**_

She never thought that the disaster itself would be this devastating. Really, she underestimated everything she thought she had known about what All Might had done. It wasn't just that he was there at the scene of a disaster, laughing as he saved so many people without a care for his own safety.

It was the fact that he could still smile despite it all. There was no need for people to remain in fear—not while he was there. He was a source of comfort and security that brought hope to everyone when they needed it the most.

And even now, as Miki continues to watch the video in complete silence, she finds herself feeling completely at ease. Because she knows she can trust All Might—she just needed to be reminded of that. She laughs and lays her head down on Fuyumi's lap. She notices that Fuyumi is smiling—and so are Natsuo and Shouto.

" _It's good to see them smiling again…"_ Miki falls asleep soon after that, no longer having any more issues with her anxiety keeping her awake. Shouto falls asleep right after that, with Natsuo and Fuyumi soon doing the same. The four are left alone together in the room, sharing a bed.

…

…

The next day, Hizashi drops by the hospital to pick Miki up. He does so under orders from his aunt. Even though Miki has been doing fine with the Todoroki family, after what had happened, Wakana feels that it might be best to keep their distance for now—at least long enough to let Miki to calm down and for the Todoroki family to recover.

"It's for the best," Hizashi tells Rei.

Rei can only nod her head in agreement.

…

Miki stays with Hizashi long enough for Mao to make her a new headset. Mao had managed to learn quite a lot from the damaged headset that Hizashi had retrieved. It suffered a major overload, causing its temperature to rise to uncomfortable levels. It was an oversight on Mao's behalf, which they immediately fix with the next headset they make. Many improvements have been made since the previous version.

"Though, it's still a work in progress…" Mao says as they tamper with the headset covering Miki's ears. "But this should certainly do for now. Do send me the old headsets that no longer work so I may continue improving the design."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Not that Hizashi will be watching Miki for much longer. Wakana had told him that she was to stay elsewhere after she had received her new headset. "I need to leave now. I should be back by tomorrow."

Hizashi takes Miki back to her house to pick up most of her belongings. When he finishes gathering most of her things, he finds her waiting for him by the door. She hugs her purple rabbit plush to her chest, taking comfort in its softness. She holds her hand out for Hizashi to take, the two then walking out of the house afterwards.

…

It takes less than a month for Miki's hearing to return. By then, she has spent more than three weeks at Shinsou Hitoshi's place. He takes well to her constant presence, being more than happy to share his room with her. He doesn't mind her silence—it just means he doesn't have to worry about accidentally using his Quirk on her.

Often, they watch the video of All Might that's been uploaded to YoTube (a name that Miki almost laughed at— _almost_ ). It always has such a calming affect on Miki, while it does nothing more than excite Hitoshi to the point that he has issues falling asleep—or rather, it _adds_ on to his already existing issues.

At one point, Hitoshi finds Miki hiding in his closet when another aftershock hits them. She's crouched in the corner, rabbit held tightly against her chest. He stares at her for a moment and then runs off to go fetch his tablet. He returns about a minute later and sits down next to Miki, his finger tapping the screen of his tablet a few times until he's got the YoTube app open and running with that same video of All Might playing.

Later on, Hitoshi's father, Mamoru, comes across the two in the closet after spending a near two hours searching for them throughout the house. He almost wants to laugh, his tail wagging far too vigorously in relief. He doesn't, though—he doesn't want to wake them up. He _especially_ doesn't want to wake Hitoshi up.

Mamoru's Quirk, Night Watch, has his sleeping schedule completely flipped, making him more suitable for the night than day, though that doesn't stop him from staying up longer for hours on end. The influence it had on Hitoshi resulted in the boy suffering from random bouts of insomnia. It's nothing too serious, though Mamoru would prefer it if his son got enough sleep…

Hitoshi's mother, Kokoro, is rarely ever home. Being a nurse, she's been working nonstop since the earthquake. Her brainwashing Quirk, of which Hitoshi had inherited from her, has its many uses in keeping patients calm and composed when necessary. She has been especially helpful with handling children who have been sent to the hospital.

Miki hasn't seen her own parents since the day of the earthquake. Wakana's Quirk has been effective in detecting people trapped under debris with her especially sensitive hearing and her Quirk raising the volume of most sounds that would otherwise be inaudible. Of course, this was only possible, thanks to Hansuke's Quirk enhancing her abilities. Hansuke's Quirk has also provided many heroes a much-needed boost to help with their rescue and relief efforts.

It's late in November when Miki finally receives a call from her parents. She just about cries when she hears their voices. It's just been too long…

"I miss you _so_ much!" she wails, her voice reaching earsplitting levels.

" _ **I know, honey—but you gotta keep it down!"**_ Wakana laughs. _**"You're gonna hurt Hitocchi and Mamo-tan's ears!"**_

"I'm sorry!" Miki wipes her eyes on the back of her sleeve.

" _ **We shouldn't be that much longer,"**_ Hansuke jumps in. _**"We're sorry we're not there with you—happy birthday Miki."**_

"It's my birthday?" Miki sniffs and wipes her eyes again. "I didn't know…"

In the three years Miki has been alive, she has yet to memorize the date of her own birthday. It's kind of embarrassing, but she's too distraught to even care.

" _ **We're planning something special for you!"**_ Wakana happily exclaims. _**"You just gotta wait—okay?"**_

"Okay…" Miki's breath hitches. "I love you…"

" _ **Love you too, sweetie!"**_ Wakana makes a kiss sound. _**"Han-tan loves you too!"**_

"Love you, Papa!" Miki's too much of an emotional mess to even care about how she appears to Mamoru and Hitoshi.

Afterwards, Hitoshi takes out his secret stash of snacks and shares them with Miki. Mamoru finds the two just eating and watching videos on YoTube, most of them relating to All Might's heroics since the day of the earthquake. Later on, Mamoru surprises the two with a cake he's made for Miki.

"Thought you might like it." Mamoru scratches the back of his head. "Eat as much as you want—just don't tell your mother, Hitoshi. And don't get sick."

Mamoru then watches as Hitoshi and Miki use their hands to dig into the cake, effectively ignoring the forks he's left out for them on the table. They make quick work of the cake, frosting soon covering their face.

"You're all animals," Mamoru deadpans, his expression completely blank. It comes off as ironic, considering the wolf-like features he had inherited from one of his parents, resulting in his wolf-like fangs and tail. The irony is not lost on Miki and Hitoshi, who start laughing at Mamoru, who soon ends up laughing as well.

It's an overall peaceful night.

…

…

It's late in December when Kokoro finally returns home, no longer caught up with the massive influx of patients at her hospital. Recovery is slow and tedious, but for the most part, the danger has passed. The first thing she does after hugging her son and pulling her husband in for a kiss is head to the bathroom to take a bath. She falls asleep less than ten minutes later, so Mamoru has to go in and carry her to bed himself—after dressing her up, of course.

Kokoro wakes up two days later and enters the kitchen to witness the sight of her son and Miki making pancakes. Mamoru sits at the table, passed the fuck out and unable to provide parental supervision of any sort. Kokoro is only lucky that she woke up in time to jump in and push the two kids away from the stove. A missed pancake flip resulted in the pancake landing right in the flames and catching on fire. Really, it was just a stroke of bad luck…and the fact that a three-year-old does not yet have the arm strength to successfully flip a pancake.

"We had it handled!" Hitoshi whines as he watches his mother take over for him and Miki.

"I'll trust you two when you can do five pull-ups." And Kokoro knows that Hitoshi can only manage two. "For now, just go run off and play—I got breakfast handled."

"Stop using your Quirk!" Hitoshi yells as he and Miki run out of the kitchen. Unlike Hitoshi, Kokoro can use her Quirk freely—so long as she received a response of _any_ sort. The downside is that Kokoro has to maintain focus on who it is that she's using her Quirk on, otherwise…

"You can't keep us out!" Hitoshi runs back into the kitchen with Miki at his side.

"Uuugh…" Kokoro pinches the bridge of her nose. Were it not for her exhaustion, she'd tell Hitoshi and Miki to sit down and shut up. Instead, she just allows the two to help her out.

…

It's late in the evening, on New Year's Eve, when Wakana and Hansuke finally show up at the Shinsou residence. Miki turns into an absolute blubbering mess, which Wakana mutes after receiving an ungloved touch from Hansuke.

"It's good to see you again, Mi-tan!" Wakana says as she rubs comforting circles on Miki's back. "We missed you!"

Hansuke only nods his heads before taking a moment to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. When Wakana pokes his cheek a few times, he breaks down and cries on Wakana's shoulder. Wakana laughs as she comforts her husband and daughter.

"So sorry if we're interrupting!" she tells Kokoro and Mamoru. "As soon as these two calm down, we'll be going!"

"You know, you could stay over for the New Year," Kokoro suggests. "We don't got anything better to do. And I'm sure Hitoshi would appreciate it if he spends it with his little friend."

"I'll get the guest room ready!" Mamoru scampers off, his tail wagging eagerly at the thought of having company over.

Wakana blinks a few times and then smiles. "Guess we'll be staying!"

And it's around five in the freaking morning when Hitoshi opens the door to the guest room to wake Miki up for another day of fun. He gets a pillow to his face for his efforts, to which he responds with a pillow of his own—he is not unarmed and shows absolutely no mercy when he whacks Miki over the head with it. By the time that Wakana and Hansuke wake up, the entire room is covered in feathers. Miki and Hitoshi are passed out on the floor, having tired each other out.

…

…

…

* * *

A/N **Edit 6-18-18: Changing Fuyuhi to Rei and Ichirou to Natsuo in order to match up with canon. The only thing that will stay from this point is the fact that Natsuo and Fuyumi are twins. That stays, cuz I've long since entered AU territory. Fuyuhi and Ichirou had been placeholders as a reminder.**

 **7-27-18: CHANGING RYOU TO TOUYA NOW THAT THE FINAL BRO HAS BEEN GIVEN HIS NAME. At this point, I am aware that the siblings are all over the place, but AGAIN, we have long since entered AU territory, so all I can say is that SO MUCH is gonna deviate because of recent developments in the manga! At least, when I get back to this fic! I'm not dead, just taking a break!**

Hey y'all, sorry about the mood whiplash, but it seriously like…came to my attention as I was working on this chapter that the situation where All Might made his famous debut was a lot more significant than I thought it was, because of the disaster that occurred. I talked it over with the Gacha Meme Hell discord chat and we pretty much came to an agreement that the whole disaster must have been fucking scary for a lot of people and the fact that All Might can just laugh it off while he's rescuing people?

THIS is why he's the Symbol of Peace.

By the way, I'm a communications major, so thing about public relations is that you should never underestimate it— _ever_. Why else do you think so many celebrities still manage to stay famous, despite the scandals and whatnot? PR…and Reina is absolutely _brutal_ to anyone she sees as a threat to those who are under her care. Endeavor is on thin-fucking-ice, so he has to be extra careful if he doesn't want his reputation to take a massive dive. This is _why_ hero agencies are super important to heroes—they will shape your future and keep you safe when shit hits the fan.

Also, Gacha Meme Hell discord chat helped out with naming the rest of the unnamed Todoroki brothers, which ended up with Ichirou and Fuyumi being twins, because why the fuck not? Ryou's situation is pretty much your biggest confirmation that this fic is an AU by now, because I still have not caught up with the manga, but certain things HAVE stuck with me whenever they pop up on my tumblr dashboard. By the by, many thanks to **AngstArbitually** / **ShadedCat** , since he's the one who brought up an observation about a certain character's scars looking more like frostbite than burns and…

It pretty much turned into Fuyuhi trying to use her Quirk on Ryou and not being used to using it under pressure, when her kid is losing complete control of his Quirk. Not mentioned is the fact that Ryou takes after Enji the most, so you can also assume that being part of another reason why Fuyuhi had some difficulties staying calm…YEAH. Frostbite numbs the skin, which is why it's recommended to never treat it with dry heat, which Ryou tried to do and…pretty much just fucked up his injuries even more.

Also, kudos to everyone who figured out the _Aggretsuko_ reference—because that's what it was! The hero agency OCs are _Aggretsuko_ references! Try to figure out who is who before I post up the list of their names, Quirks, and whatnot.

 **TheOnlyN** is to blame for "THE PIT" and **kurobook** is also to blame for giving me more ideas to add to the scene at the beginning of this chapter. You also have **PartyFavors** / **jadecore** to blame for Hitoshi's father, Mamoru, looking the way he does because of what went on during a stream involving a game of _Monster Prom_ , where **ShadedCat** and I were fighting over Damien (which he won because **kurobook** got him the ghost sheet), **TheOnlyN** continued in **ShadedCat** 's place and successfully wooed the demon boy, **PartyFavors** tried Vera and failed, so he moved onto Scott and got hella lucky, even though he fell asleep on stream, in the call, so someone else in the chat played in his place. But yeah, Scott pretty much won all of us over and **TheOnlyN** 's comment about Hitoshi being a lone wolf just solidified the appearance.

Mamoru (the kanji for Night Watch had a reading for Mamoru, so that's why his name is Mamoru) is a lot more intelligent and not as much of an airhead as Scott, his hair is also like…indigo-colored and super fluffy, but otherwise, he's a very sweet person. Is pretty much nocturnal and works graveyard shifts, but that doesn't stop him from staying up so late. His sleeping habits carried over to his son, Hitoshi, which resulted in his random bouts of insomnia. Gets along well with Kokoro, who ended up being the one where Hitoshi got his Quirk from. Because really, a nurse working at the hospital would benefit the most from having a brainwashing Quirk during crisis times.

Anyways, thank you guys so much for taking the time to review! I really appreciate it, so here are the shout-outs!

Reviewer #10: **antisocialFox**

Reviewer #11: **Evanescentfacade**

Reviewer #20: **Merpderplerpdrowned**

Honorable mentions: **SilverStar56** , **Reduced20** , Anonymous Reviewer **AnonPerson Thing** , **Eyanami** , Anonymous Reviewer **TrashyAnon** (I'm always ready to dish out aromantic characters and the like whenever I feel like it, because that's just how I roll!), **peccolia** (I'm so happy you took the time to review this fic! I'm such a fan of your fics, especially _Laterality_ , and I just wanna say I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! Ahahhaa…), **amgs** , **Rising Fandoms** (my condolences and thank you for understanding), **NemesisNecrosis** (yeah, imagine how I felt when I found out RSD was a fucking thing—made SO much sense when I found out WHY I was so sensitive)

Thank you all so much and feel free to leave a review if you have any questions or the like! Otherwise, it's just nice to hear what you guys have to think! I just honestly can't believe that I've already managed to post three updates in a freaking row! Like…I'm so baffled.

Anyways, until next time! KD out! XD


	5. Unison

Miki and Hitoshi wake up two hours later and find their parents talking to each other at the kitchen table. It's mostly boring stuff, so Miki and Hitoshi go straight to the fridge for something to eat. Mamoru interrupts their raid in order to hand them a plate of rice balls he had made for them. Hitoshi and Miki thank him before scurrying off to Hitoshi's room.

"We can never thank you enough for what you've done for us." Wakana was at an absolute loss when she was told that she wouldn't be going home for some time.

"There's only so much Hizashi can do for us and the Todoroki family was hit especially hard during the day of the earthquake," Hansuke explains. "Really, thank you so much for taking in Miki."

"Oh, it's nothing!" Kokoro waves her hand. "Anything for a friend of Hitoshi's—he needed the company anyways, since I got stuck at the hospital during the disaster. So many children lost control of their Quirks…"

"That does tend to happen during these incidents…" Wakana sighs wearily. "I don't know how All Might does it…"

"I'm rather envious of him," Hansuke says. "I wish I was _that_ fearless…"

"But you are!" Wakana wraps her arm around Hansuke's shoulder. "You went in, knowing fully well of the risks that were in store for you! Why? Because you wanted to use your Quirk as much as possible to help people!"

Hansuke's face heats up with a blush. "B-B-But I…I'm just support!"

"You're a hero!" Wakana grins widely as she gently pokes Hansuke's cheek. "Remember that…"

"Right…" Hansuke laughs awkwardly, his gaze falling down to his lap.

"You two are very sweet!" Kokoro grins. "It's not like Mamoru and I, but I can tell you two care for each other very much. So tell me—how did the dynamic duo first meet?"

"It's kind of embarrassing when I actually think of it…" Wakana lightly scratches her cheek with her finger.

"It was during our time at Yuuei Academy—she just walked up to me during lunch and asked me to team up with her," Hansuke answers without missing a beat. "She had no idea who I was or what my Quirk was—she just liked the way my name fit with hers."

"And…that's pretty much it." Wakana smiles widely and flashes Mamoru and Kokoro a V-sign. "It's actually not that embarrassing!"

"We got married because she straight up asked me to make a baby with her." That response alone causes Kokoro and Mamoru to burst into a fit of laughter.

"Ohh… _that's_ what was embarrassing." Thinking of it now, Wakana could have certainly worded that proposition better…but whatever. "Anyways, what about you two? How did you meet?"

"I ran into him on my way home from cram school—he had this big, goofy smile on his face that just pissed me off." Kokoro remembers it quite fondly. "I thought to myself that he better not even _think_ of talking to me…"

"Except I did, because Kokoro dropped her book!" Mamoru early jumps in. "She almost hit me over the head with it…we didn't get along at first."

"It was pretty one-sided." Kokoro yawns loudly. "That changed when we got assigned to a group project and I passed out the night before it was due. I thought we were gonna fail, since Mamoru always sleeps through class due to his Quirk. I…underestimated him."

"I was in the top five on exams!" Mamoru's tail wags quite energetically as he says this. "She never got a clue because she was too annoyed with me to care."

"I was an idiot." Kokoro sighs. "Thankfully, I changed and decided to give him a chance. So here we are."

It took long after high school graduation for Kokoro to get a clue of how much she _liked_ Mamoru. She figured it out during one late night at the university library, when Mamoru was helping her stay up all night to study for her exams. The two started dating after that and shortly after, decided to get married after realizing how well they got along.

"Anyways, you like sushi?" Kokoro pulls out her cellphone. "I could get us some sushi."

Lunch for the group consists of rather expensive sushi that Kokoro ordered on a whim. Miki lays claim to every roll containing masago of any sort, giving every other roll she mistakenly grabs to Hitoshi. Hitoshi cares not of what of what he receives, because he'll eat it regardless. He likes just about everything on the plate…except for the sea urchin, which he gives to his father, who hands it over to Kokoro.

"Geez, you guys are such babies!" Kokoro says before putting the roll in her mouth. "No taste, I swear…ugh— _eel_! You have it, Mamoru."

Mamoru tries not to laugh as he accepts the roll from Kokoro. Meanwhile with Hansuke, he spends most of his time picking out every roll that Wakana likes. He's not especially picky, but Wakana is, which is why he goes through the effort of helping her out.

…

…

It's late in the evening when Miki finally returns home. For a place that's usually empty, it's surprisingly clean—not that she minds, as the fresh sheets on her bed make everything feel all the better. She throws her rabbit plush onto the bed and then herself, managing to fall asleep within a matter of seconds.

She wakes up early in the morning and finds her mother messing around in the kitchen. And by messing around, Wakana is just eating ice-cream out of the tub, with no intent of sharing.

"Mama!" Miki calls out, nearly scaring the crap out of Wakana.

"Whoa—you're up early…" Wakana hadn't expected that… "Please don't tell your papa about this."

Hansuke will _never_ let her hear the end of it if he finds out that she's eating ice-cream for breakfast again. Because then he'll ask if she's stressed out again and that usually leads to Wakana having to talk about things she doesn't like… She's quite fine with talking, she just…needs a freaking week to prepare.

"Share!" Miki uses a chair to climb onto the counter and then grabs the spoon from Wakana's hand.

"Well…okay—but this means you're going down with me if he catches us!" Wakana grins widely as she grabs another spoon from a drawer. "Ugh, what am I doing with my life?"

She's talking to a three-year-old child in the kitchen at like seven in the morning…a child that just so happens to be her daughter.

" _Oh god, I gave_ _ **birth**_ _to her!"_ Wakana rests her chin on her hand as she stares at Miki. The more she thinks about it, the more it baffles her mind that she carried Miki for _nine months_ … _"Fucking wild…"_

Miki has grown so much since then…

…

"Hey, Mi-tan—do you wanna have a party?" Wakana asks Miki.

"Hmm?" Miki stares at Wakana, spoon currently shoved into her mouth.

"You know that surprised we promised you?" Wakana brings up. "Well—here it is! You're getting a birthday party!"

…

"Or not?" Wakana still isn't sure if Miki wants one. "Yes or no?"

"Can I invite Shouto and Hitoshi?" Miki has been meaning to introduce the two to each other for quite some time already. She just never knew how…until now!

Wakana blinks a few times. "Well, sure you can! It's _your_ party—go nuts! Just don't break the windows…"

She just got those replaced, due to the earthquake's vibrations shattering just about every freaking window in this house…

"Anyways—that's enough ice-cream!" Wakana takes the tub of ice-cream away from Miki and takes it over to the refrigerator. "We gotta save that for later—plus I actually want real food. Don't you?"

"Arroz con leche!" Miki exclaims.

"Ugh—you're _so_ boring!" And yet, Wakana can't help but smile. "Fine—you're lucky we just bought milk…"

Half an hour later, Hansuke wakes up and is surprised to find the kitchen in one piece. The floor, however, is covered in rice because Wakana forgot she left the bag open when she reached up into the cabinet to grab it. It's not as bad as it could be, so Hansuke finds himself laughing as he goes to fetch a broom.

It feels good to be back home again…

…

…

It's about a week later when Miki gets the chance to introduce Hitoshi and Shouto to each other. It goes just as expected, with the two interacting quite awkwardly with each other. Miki stares blankly at her friends, wondering how it is that these two managed to approach her without any issues…

They managed to do just that and yet—they can barely work up the courage to even _look_ at each other.

" _This is going nowhere…"_ A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Miki's face. "Hmmm…"

Thankfully, Touya steps in, feeling completely out of place with his older siblings because of how easily they can interact with adults. He decides to take his chances with his younger brother and his friends. It's not like they were doing anything to begin with… "So hey, I'm bored—can we do something?"

"Uhhh…" Miki stares at Touya, her gaze focusing on the bandages wrapped around his arms, legs, neck, and some parts of his face. His ears are also covered, which _definitely_ raises some concerns she now has—did she hurt them _that_ badly?

"Oh—it's okay," he reassures her, having noticed her staring. "Apart from the permanent scarring, it's fine! The bandages are just to keep my skin safe—that's all! Yo—you wanna see 'em?"

Touya lightly tugs at the bandages wrapped around his face. He grins widely, somewhat eager to show off his scars, despite how unsightly they have been for some.

"Can we?!" Hitoshi finally speaks up, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"They're kinda gross…" Shouto mutters, his eyes diverting to the side. He lets out an annoyed whine when Touya's hand roughly tussles his hair.

"Did I ask, Shouto?" Touya says, sounding especially annoyed. "Of course they're gross—but your friend wants to see! And you guys aren't doing much, so why not?"

"I'm down for some scars." Even though Miki would prefer not to, but the sooner she gets used to them, the better. "Let's go to my room!"

Chances are, Touya isn't supposed to be messing with his bandages and if Fuyumi caught wind of that, then there goes any chance they have in seeing his scars.

"Uuurgh, fine!" Shouto huffs. "We can see Nii-san's nasty scars…"

…

They're…not as bad as Miki was expecting them to be. The skin is a darkish-purple color and is rather wrinkled. It's somewhat hard to the touch, though not completely…

"Hey, stop—that tickles!" Touya laughs before swatting Miki's hand away. "It's still sensitive…"

It's strange, because Miki wasn't expecting that—aren't third-degree burns supposed to cause numbness? Third-degree burns can destroy nerves, and yet…that doesn't seem to be the case for Touya.

" _Interesting…"_ Miki carefully pokes at Touya's arm again, earing herself a few well-aimed jabs to her side. "Ahaha!"

"Ohh—you're ticklish, huh?!" Touya grins widely, his eyes darting to the side. "What about you, Hitoshi?"

Hitoshi immediately backs away from Touya. "Uhh…no?"

"I'm out." Shouto is already halfway across the room. He almost makes it through the door, but then Touya swoops in and lifts him off the floor. "N-Noo—stop!"

"I know you're ticklish, Shouto!" Touya laughs as he starts tickling Shouto's neck. "Gotcha!"

"Ahahhaa, stooopppp!" A high-pitched squeal leaves Shouto's mouth. "M-Miikiii—help! Ahahahahaha!"

"There's no escape—I'm blocking the doorway!" Touya laughs mischievously. "Whatcha gonna do?"

Miki breaks into a cold sweat as she watches Touya continue to tickle his little brother. It's…not anything she wants to get in between. Vivid memories of her past life flood her head, reminding her of the times where her oldest brother would tickle her into submission when she was a child. Considering how ticklish she still is…

" _I'm not risking it…"_ Even though a part of her wants Touya to stop, because Shouto's already laughing so hard, he's crying. She blinks twice and turns her attention when Hitoshi tugs on her skirt a few times. "Hmm?"

"Sh-Should we…should we do something?" he asks.

"I…" Miki makes a face. If she gets involves, then Touya might turn on her and she has no idea what _that'll_ mean for her when it involves her Quirk.

"I understand, but…" Hitoshi trails off. He opens his mouth and then closes it…then he tries again. "Uh…is he supposed to be on fire?"

"Shouto— _crap_!" Touya swears, nearly dropping Shouto when he accidentally sets his bandages on fire. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh nonononono!"

He just changed those bandages!

"I, ahaha…I'm sorry…" Shouto gasps out. "I just…"

"Don't freeze it!" Touya all but shrieks. He doesn't want a repeat of when his mother accidentally gave him frostbite. "No ice—I'm gonna drop you! Sorry!"

"Why— _ahh_!" Shouto yells.

 _Thud!_

"Oww…" Shouto rubs at his backside.

"Someone get a blanket or something—we gotta put out the flames!" Touya furiously pats down at the flames burning his bandages.

It takes until the fabric catches on fire for Miki, Shouto, and Hitoshi to realize that throwing a blanket that isn't fire-resistant at Touya is the last thing they should do. Miki, Shouto, and Hitoshi immediately rush to the bathroom and completely submerge the blanket in water to avoid making any more of a chaotic mess. It is there that Hitoshi gets a brilliant idea and starts telling Miki and Shouto to help him take the soaked blanket out of the tub. They make a complete sopping mess in the bathroom in the process that also manages to leave their clothes uncomfortably wet. Puddles of water are left in their path as they head back to the room with the wet blanket.

"Catch!" is the only thing Touya gets as a warning before he gets smacked in the face with a completely soaked blanket. He loses his balance and falls to the floor, where he then finds himself getting covered with the blanket. The flames are effectively extinguished, but the water soaks through his clothes and bandages within a matter of seconds.

He crawls out from underneath the blanket, gasping loudly as he tries to fill his lungs with air. That really knocked the wind right out of him…

"Are you okay?" Shouto asks him.

"I'm…fine…" Although, Touya now knows better than to make his little brother laugh too hard if it means activating his flames. "Just cold…"

Did they _really_ have to use cold water?

"Sorry!" Miki says with a frown on her face.

"We were in a rush, so there wasn't time for the water to warm up!" Hitoshi explains.

"What's going on?" Fuyumi causes the group to shriek when she pokes her head through the doorway. "We heard a lot of noise going upstairs, so I got sent to check and… _what_ are you doing?"

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Touya's face as he stares at his older sister. Hitoshi, Miki, and Shouto are just as nervous, which makes Fuyumi wonder what exactly it is that they're hiding from her.

"Why does it smell like something was burning?" Fuyumi's nose crinkles.

That's when Miki suddenly raises her arms into the air and says, "Ooohh, he's a ghoooost~!"

It's so random, that Fuyumi doesn't even know what to say. Sure, the blanket covering Touya is white—but that's about it. "Wh-What…?"

"Oooh~!" Miki deliberately lets herself trip over Touya, who gets the message when she jabs him in the side.

"Big scary ghost has your friiiieeend!" Touya wraps his arms around Miki, covering her in the wet blanket. "Whatcha gonna do about it?"

"You will let her go!" Hitoshi runs over to grab a pillow, which he throws at Touya.

"Nice try—I'm immune to pillows!" Touya boastfully proclaims as he bats the pillow away. He gets up the ground, Miki still in his arms. "I'm taking your friend into the afterlife with me! You better stop me!"

"Where's the salt?!" Shouto exclaims as he throws a couple of stuffed animals at Touya.

Fuyumi watches the scene before her unfold, her expression as blank as can be. She knows that they just pulled that explanation out of their ass…but a part of her just asks, "Do I care?"

" _No…I don't."_ She shakes her head and leaves, deciding that she's done enough for the time being. Nothing is on fire, so it's perfectly fine for her to leave these four weirdos alone… _"It's not my problem…"_

If anything, it's Touya's—but he seems to have it handled for the time being. If anything, he seems to be having the time of his life pretending to be a ghost. He laughs and laughs as he runs down the hallway, carrying Miki over his head. Hitoshi and Shouto are right behind him, trailing after him as they throw countless stuffed animals at him. Eventually, they have Touya cornered and after putting up a somewhat good fight, he gets tackled to the floor.

 _Thud!_

"My heroes!" Miki exclaims in an overly dramatic fashion. She laughs afterwards, unable to take herself seriously, especially as she's watching Touya get whacked upside the head with a couple of her stuffed animals.

"Aaugh, stuffed animals—my one weakness!" Touya's smiling so hard, that his face is starting to hurt. He knows that it's a side effect to the damage his skin has taken from his burns, but that doesn't stop him from smiling. He's just…having so much _fun_. "Time to go into maximum overdrive!"

Miki, Hitoshi, and Shouto shriek as Touya suddenly wraps his arms around the three, dragging them underneath the blanket that's covering his body. It's still as damp as ever, but by this point, they're all used to it.

"I'm taking you punks down with me!" Touya spins around a few times, nearly losing his balance in the process. Miki, Hitoshi, and Shouto are by no means heavy—on their own, at least. Their combined weight, however, make for a somewhat difficult challenge. Being not much stronger than the average seven-year-old boy, it doesn't take that long for Touya to finally lose his balance.

 _Thud!_

The fall isn't what hurts Touya the most. It's disorienting, yes, but it doesn't hurt as much as being crushed underneath Miki, Hitoshi, and Shouto's combined weight. It knocks the wind right out of him, making it somewhat difficult to breathe. He considers himself quite lucky that his stomach is empty, otherwise this could've gotten quite messy…

The four of them remain on the floor, Touya too pained to say anything, and Miki, Hitoshi, and Shouto being too dazed to make sense of their surroundings.

…

About half an hour later, Miki, Hitoshi, and Shouto help Touya change his bandages. The four of them are all sitting on the floor of Wakana and Hansuke's bathroom. The first-aid kit is at their side, its contents messily strewn about. They have since changed out of their wet clothes, with Touya now wearing one of Hansuke's shirts and Hitoshi and Shouto wearing some of Miki's clothes.

Hitoshi and Shouto are nearly the same size as Miki, so her clothes fit them comfortably enough without any issues whatsoever. The two don't even mind that they're wearing such feminine-looking clothing, as it's better than being cold and wet. Touya, however, isn't as lucky, being too big to fit into any of Miki's clothes. He's too big for her clothes, but not big enough for Hansuke's shirt to fit him comfortably. He's practically drowning in its long sleeves and while its fun to flap them around, it's a pain in the ass to constantly roll them up.

Touya lasts a total of ten minutes with Hansuke's shirt before walking over to the dresser containing Wakana's clothes. He rummages through the drawers for something that could possibly fit him better and pulls out a strappy tank top. He stares at it for a few seconds before heading over to the walk-in closet to change out of Hansuke's shirt.

The tank top fits him like a white sundress. It leaves his arms and shoulders completely exposed, but compared to the mess that was Hansuke's shirt, it's an improvement. It makes it easier for Touya to continue wrapping bandages around his arms and legs. There's only so much that Miki, Hitoshi, and Shouto can do, as they aren't so used to working with bandages like Touya is.

"You gotta make sure they aren't on too tight," Touya tells them. "But they can't be too loose either."

"How do you even do it?" Hitoshi asks as he tries not to seem too frustrated when Touya removes the bandages he had just wrapped around his leg.

"Practice." Touya has had enough time to practice on himself during his time at the hospital. Boredom can really do a lot to a person, especially when temporary hearing loss effectively locks you out of certain forms of entertainment… "Hey—you guys wanna be like one of those mummies?!"

…

Fuyumi has no idea what she expected when she's sent again to check up on them again after Natsuo fails to return. The first thing she notices is that, with the exception of her twin brother, they're all wearing different sets of clothing. The next thing she notices is that they're _all_ wrapped in bandages. Natsuo stands out significantly, acting like a monster that's chasing after his younger brothers and their friends. He's mimicking Touya when he first came across the group, wanting to know what was going on before asking if he can join.

And upon noticing Fuyumi, Natsuo asks his twin sister, "You wanna play?"

Fuyumi stares at Natsuo for a moment…then she closes the door and walks away. She tells the adults that everything is completely fine, even though a part of her feels it isn't. She's gotten in enough trouble over the years through association with her brothers, Natsuo and Touya. By now, she's just learn when to avoid trouble when she sees it…

" _Nope…"_ She takes out her phone and starts playing a mobile game she recently downloaded.

…

Surprisingly, nothing else goes wrong during the next two hours it takes before everyone is called down for lunch. Touya, Shouto, and Hitoshi have changed back into their clothes by then, having thrown them in the dryer for about an hour. Natsuo assisted in helping them sneak the wet clothing into the machine without anyone noticing, with Miki standing on guard with her sensitive hearing. The mess of bandages had also been cleaned up, alongside the puddles of water that were left all over the place—just in time to avoid any questions from Hansuke when he drops to inform them that the food is ready.

Fuyumi just stares at them, not knowing what to think of the trouble they all had managed to avoid. She wants to say something, but then stops herself. She shakes her head and decides that it's best that she just remains silent. Although, she does consider the idea of joining the rest of them next time— _if_ there is a next time. She doubts it'll happen again, but just in case…

" _I guess I can afford to get in trouble every once in a while…"_ A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.

Later that day, Miki receives her birthday gifts. From Shouto, she's given a pair of purple high tops, the color matching the rabbit plush she received from him the year before. From Hitoshi, she's given a black hoodie with pink-colored accents and rabbit ears on the hood.

"Now you and your rabbit can match!" Hitoshi explains.

"Thanks!" Miki smiles widely. She hadn't been expecting clothes from Shouto and Hitoshi. If anything, she was expecting toys. But clothes are fine—they are _definitely_ fine. She's learned the hard way of how expensive clothes can be when she used most of her leftover scholarship money for clothes during her first year of college. _"So many regrets…"_

But not this time—she's _learning_!

" _Never again!"_ Miki tries on the hoodie and is happy to see that it fits. The shoes also fit, which is great! She's just so freaking happy that everything is going well, that she just won't stop shaking.

"Aww, she really likes it!" Wakana smiles widely. "She gets like that when she gets super happy!"

"She's a lot like you." Hansuke huffs out a laugh when Wakana lightly jabs her elbow into his side. "It's _true_!"

"They don't need to know that!" A light blush dusts Wakana's cheeks. "Hey, don't you have something for Shou-chan?"

"Ohh—yeah!" Miki remembers! She almost forgot since she got caught up with today's events. She excuses herself and then runs off to her room. Less than five minutes later, she returns with a red fox plush that she immediately presents to Shouto.

"Happy birthday!" she exclaims, knowing fully well that she's at least a week late.

Shouto blinks a few times, not knowing how to react to the plush at first. It's red…like the color of his father's hair. "Red…"

"Like your hair!" Hitoshi points out, his gaze focused on the left side of Shouto's hair.

"Y-Yeah…" Shouto doesn't know what to say. Red is a color that he's come to dislike, but when he gives the red fox an affectionate squeeze, he feels… _content_. "Thank you…"

"Now you have a red one to match the white one I got you last time!" Miki explains, her hands balled up into tiny fists. "You're a fox!"

Hitoshi blinks a few times and laughs. "If he's a fox, then you're a rabbit!"

Shouto tilts his head to the side. "Then what are you?"

Hitoshi is all too eager to show off his teeth, revealing a set of elongated canines that are not unlike the ones his father possessed. "A wolf!"

Shouto stares agape at Hitoshi, not having expected that answer from him. "Wh-Whoa…"

Miki's eyes are sparkling in awe at the sight. Even now, there are things in this world that still manage to surprise her in ways that she least expects it. It just reminds her of how little she actually knows about the world that was one fictional to her… _"They're all alive…"_

And so is she.

…

…

…

* * *

A/N **Edit 6-18-18: Changing Fuyuhi to Rei and Ichirou to Natsuo in order to match up with canon. The only thing that will stay from this point is the fact that Natsuo and Fuyumi are twins. That stays, cuz I've long since entered AU territory. Fuyuhi and Ichirou had been placeholders as a reminder.**

 **Also sorry for not updating in a while, like a few days after I posted up this chapter, I got hella busy with school...and then I got in a car accident on 5-27-18, where I lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. The tree and me are fine, but the car is NOT, so yeah...it was spooky, but I'm hoping to get back to this fic soon! I'm seriously glad you guys have been liking this fic! Thanks again!**

 **EDIT: 7-27-18: CHANGING RYOU TO TOUYA NOW THAT THE FINAL BRO HAS BEEN GIVEN HIS NAME. At this point, I am aware that the siblings are all over the place, but AGAIN, we have long since entered AU territory, so all I can say is that SO MUCH is gonna deviate because of recent developments in the manga! At least, when I get back to this fic! I'm not dead, just taking a break!**

Heyo, guess who's out for the summer?! Me—so have another chapter! Anyways, I should probably confirm that _YES_ , Ryou IS Dabi—this is a "Dabi is Shouto's brother" fic. I saw that theory and ran with it, because at this point, why the hell not? The name Ryou came from the on'yomi reading of 燎, which can mean "burn, bonfire." And like, the kanji for Ryou can have the kanji for "cool, refreshing" and like, I thought that was hilariously ironic because fire-related Quirk. Ahahha….

In any case, I am aware that Ryou/Dabi shouldn't be able to feel much on his burned skin, considering that third-degree burns _do_ damage nerves and cause numbness. But this is a world where various types of Quirks exist, you can at least expect them to save Ryou's nerves, so just go with it, yeah? Ryou/Dabi pretty much doesn't like ice as a result of the numbness the frostbite had given him, so expect him to freak out at times around ice.

Anyways, Shouto and Hitoshi have now been introduced to each other! All aboard the SS Friendship—cuz that's where we're headed now! Miki might not have much information about the future, but she can at least give these two boys some friends, cuz god knows they fucking need 'em…

Credit goes, again, to **TheOnlyN** for the rabbit hoodie that Miki received from Hitoshi, because that is now a thing. Miki is now associated with rabbits, Shouto is a fox, and Hitoshi is a wolf—again, all because of **TheOnlyN** , so there you have it!

Also more on Wakana and Hansuke! It was mentioned in a previous chapter that they were mixed and Wakana is pretty much Mexican-Japanese (which extends to Hizashi as well) while Hansuke is Brazilian-Japanese. Japan has a pretty large Brazilian population (which is why Shouya's niece, Maria, in _Koe no Katachi_ being part Brazilian isn't that out of place and neither is her father, Pedro). Brazil itself also has a large Japanese population (which is why when you look at the anime, _Michiko to Hatchin_ , a lot of the characters have Japanese names despite being set in Brazil). So Hansuke being part Brazilian isn't that much out of the norm and as for why I did it…why not?

I'll admit, I mostly did it after deciding to make Wakana Mexican-Japanese. As for _why_ she's Mexican-Japanese…it just happened during a talk with **kurobook** and **plouton** since we all pretty much made our BNHA/MHA SI OCs at the same time. I mean, I'm Mexican, so I just went, "Fuck it—Wakana's Mexican-Japanese!"

Because I can—I honestly don't see why I can't. I pretty much stuck with it after watching the _Hāfu_ documentary, which did feature a Mexican-Japanese family. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend you look into that documentary because of how informative it can be about the mixed-race experience in Japan. Hāfu, by the way, is used in Japanese to refer to someone who is biracial—more specifically, someone who is half-Japanese. That is what Wakana and Hansuke are.

Anyways, have some shout-outs!

Reviewer #22: **Dame Amaryllis**

Honorable mentions: **DannyPhantom619** , **The Environmentalist** , **iwaizoomi** , **Momma Lici** , **Meno Melissa**

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to review! I really appreciate it! It makes my day and motivates me to keep writing—like really! Even if it's just a jumbled up mess of words, it's fine! Do feel free to ask any questions if you have any, I'm always open to answer them as best as I can! Do tell me if I've made any mistakes, I still haven't caught up with the manga, but I should soon!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because I certainly did! Until next time, everyone! KD out! XD


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